The governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, will conclude his six-year term at the helm of the institution tomorrow, Tuesday 11 June, and the government has yet to take a firm decision on his replacement. The Minister of Economy. Carlos Cuerpo, has explained that there is still time to designate a successor to Hernández de Cos, whom he has recognised for his “excellent work” at the head of the institution over the last few years.
In other legislatures, PP and PSOE reached an unwritten agreement when it came to renewing the leadership of the Bank of Spain, with the party in government appointing the governor and the main opposition party appointing the deputy governor. But on this occasion, with the bridges between the two parties broken, the government has linked this pact to the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), blocked by the PP.
Hernández de Cos is leaving after lowering interest rates at the ECB Governing Council and raising the regulatory capital of Spanish banks by 1%, as of 2026, in view of the increase in non-performing loans. And he leaves work pending for his successor who, in addition to having to analyse BBVA’s hostile takeover bid for Banco Sabadell from the perspective of solvency, will have to tackle the upcoming challenges facing the Spanish economy. Among these, the governor highlighted boosting productivity growth, reducing the high rate of structural unemployment, guaranteeing the sustainability of public accounts, reducing the vulnerabilities of certain segments of households – particularly in relation to access to housing -, tackling the multiple challenges posed by the ecological transition, and continuing to strengthen the resilience of the financial system.
De Cos also warned that the lack of consensus, in a context of high political fragmentation, will make it difficult to design and implement these reforms and the fiscal consolidation plan that Spain needs, which will negatively affect the prospects for future economic growth.
With a strong technical profile, Hernández de Cos arrived at the head of the agency in 2018, after having held the post of Director of Economics and Statistics at the Bank of Spain since 2015.
While serving as governor, Hernández de Cos has also been a member of the Governing Council and General Council of the European Central Bank and of the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board. He has also been Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and of the Board of Governors of the Centre for Latin American Monetary Studies (Cemla), among other positions.
