Top Stories

Interviews

socorro fernandez larrea 777x400 a

Interviews, Spanish economy 4th September 2021

“All Neighbouring Electricity Markets Have Been At Record Highs For Days. The Rules Are The Same Throughout Europe, And They Are Not Going To Change Them”

Almudena Díez | Red Electrica’s Director -Socorro Fernández Larrea- explains why the current price of electricity in Spain (140€ MW/h) has been at record highs for days: Q: How do you explain to consumers that the system can have such sharp fluctuations in the price of electricity that directly affect their pockets? A: Very easily, by telling the truth, if you like. The problem arises because the price of energy…

ramiro mato

Interviews 21st July 2021

“A Lot Of Things Are Not Defined. We Don’t Know What Is Green, What Is Brown…”

Fernando Rodríguez | “Nor do we know what rules the EBA is going to impose on these issues, or how some of the measures the ECB may take will affect capital ratios. So regulation is making it difficult for us to grow, because of all the limitations and all the capital requirements being imposed on us,” explains Ramiro Mato, chairman of the responsible banking, sustainability and corporate governance committee at Santander Bank: “For example, in Poland 70% of energy still comes from coal, and we cannot stop financing our customers all at once.”

Nobuhiro Kiyotaki

Interviews 6th July 2021

“Modern Monetary Theory Has A Weakness: Nominal Government Bond Rates Are Not Always Low”

Pablo Pardo (Washington) | Nobuhiro Kiyotaki, Princeton professor and BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award winner, says: “As public debt grows, rates tend to rise, until they are close to those of private debt, which are higher than the rate of GDP growth. The spreads on public and private debt are not immutable over time and, paradoxically, some people seem to think that this is the case, that the coupon on…

nuria aliño

Interviews 10th June 2021

“I am Surprised That There Are So Few Open Banking Fintechs In Spain”

“Traditionally, financial services were provided by banks – in many countries three or four institutions have 80 or 85% of the market, and they do not always have a focus on financial inclusion – but that is no longer the case and there are new providers, such as ‘ANT FInancial’ in China or ‘Mercado Libre’ in Latin America, which started with payments and now offer a wide range of services. That is why open banking is important for the World Bank, because it favours competition and financial inclusion”, says Nuria Aliño, advisor to the World Bank.

Isabel Perez Nivela

Interviews 22nd April 2021

“In London You Almost Have To Apologise For Having A Dominical Chairwoman”

Fernando Rodríguez López de Andújar | Isabel perez Nivela is vice-president for legal affairs at Coca Cola European Partners, the bottling company that last year had a turnover of 10.6 billion euros (-11%) and was already listed in Amsterdam. so “taking advantage of brexit, which forces us to have a European market of reference, we have domiciled (Coca-Cola EP) in Amsterdam, whose stock exchange is quadrupling its business volumes since the brexit agreement. Amsterdam also has other prerogatives for long-term shareholders, such as allowing loyalty shares and other corporate governance issues that are not allowed in london. there you almost have to apologise for having a dominical chairwoman, even if she is appointed by a shareholder with more than 30% of the capital”.

Christoph M. Schmidt

Interviews 19th April 2021

“The Rapid Recuperation In World Trade Has Already Enabled Industry to Almost Completely Recover”

Lidia Conde (Francfort) | Christoph Schmidt, chairman of the Franco-German economic think tank for the past year – when he stepped down as chairman of the council of wise men advising the Berlin government – makes no secret of his concerns: “Both the European Green Deal and the Next Generation EU nourish the hope that Europe will emerge stronger from this crisis in the end. But between the EU’s ambitious plans and the final success, the final results, there is a long way to go. And on that road, member states will have to undertake the structural reforms that will increase their long-term growth potential and show their readiness to return to compliance with the stability and growth pact, with the debt rules”.

edward leigh

Interviews 11th March 2021

“Even Farmers, Subsidised By The EU Common Agricultural Policy, Voted For Brexit”

Tristan de Bourbon | “In some cities like Boston, on the coast, half the population and half the schoolchildren came from Eastern Europe. But it is true that immigration does not explain all of Lincolnshire’s Brexit vote. Look, even farmers, heavily subsidised by the European Common Agricultural Policy, voted for Brexit because they were fed up with all the European controls. The European system is totally absurd: you receive aid according to the area you own, whether you farm or not,” says Edward Leigh, Conservative MP, former Chairman of the British Public Accounts Committee.

DaSilva

Interviews 5th March 2021

“In Many Companies, Audit Is Still Very Reactive; It’s Often The Last To Know What’s Going On”

Pablo Pardo| The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB) comprises 48 countries, has four official languages, and is the largest provider of development aid in the region. Its annual loan portfolio was around $15 Bn (more than €12 Bn) before the outbreak of Covid-19, which has boosted the institution’s activity due to the ravages of the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Canadian-Brazilian Jorge da Silva has been the IDB’s Executive Auditor for eight years, where he heads a unit of 30 people dedicated to internal auditing.

Emma

Interviews 25th February 2021

“Spain Has Not Had An Industrial Policy In The Last 20 Years, Maybe More”

Fernando Rodríguez | “Tourism, energy, food…In those sectors where we have people with a lot of knowledge and we are leaders, we should use the recovery funds to invest in technology to be stronger and more competitive. I think it is very difficult to transform a society from one day to the next and create companies that generate employment in sectors completely new. Our transformation must be gradual. We must take advantage of European funds to make an intelligent change of our strengths”, says Emma Fernández, board member of Metrovacesa, Asti and Axway.