The B20’s resolutions for the year
The B20’s priorities change from year to year. This year, organization representing the business community of the G20 will be led by Germany, focusing on promoting its slogan: “resilience, responsibility and responsiveness – towards a future-oriented, sustainable world economy.” They will present their recommendations from their year of work to the G20 leaders at the summit in May.
The B20 is divided into five different working groups:
- Trade & investment;
- Energy, climate and resource efficiency;
- Financing growth & infrastructure;
- Digitalization ; and
- Employment and Education.
Companies working on these issues make up each of the groups. BBVA is part of the working group on financing growth and infrastructure. The B20 also has two cross-cutting working groups:
- Responsible business and anti-corruption; and
- SMEs.
The B20 determines the main topics for each group, including digital commerce; efficient natural resources management and the use of technologies that do not exacerbate climate change; the promotion of global connectivity, 4.0 industry and artificial intelligence; and the reinforcement of international commitments on education and employment.
For the cross-cutting working groups, the priorities include improving transparency and compliance systems and strengthening corporate social responsibility. The B20 also aims to reduce the regulatory obstacles on SMEs; promote their digitalization and improve their access to financing sources.
What does the financing growth and infrastructure working group do?
This year, this working group is focusing on three main areas:
- Liquidity – fundamental for future growth. The B20 wants to foment the exchange of best practices related to infrastructure. It also hopes to promote private investment in emerging markets and SME access to innovative, long-term financing systems.
- Financial regulation 2.0, in other words, regulation that is prepared for the future and covers digital risk and opportunities. The B20 hopes to bring about an appropriate balance between innovation and risk, and stresses the importance of coherence across borders, not just for financial regulation, but also for data protection and cybersecurity.
- Fiscal security and cooperation, crucial to the global economy and financial system. In this area, the B20 seeks to promote an international fiscal environment that prioritizes stability, coherence and simplification. The group also says it is essential that the economic impact on businesses and their compliance ability be taken into account when creating a new framework for tax cooperation.
These focus areas also will bear in mind the G20 priorities for this year: on the one hand, the resilience of the national and international economy to promote structural reforms, strengthen the international financial architecture and develop financial markets; and the digitalization of financial services and investment agreements with African governments on the other. All of this while keeping in mind the B20’s goal for Argentina’s presidency: digital financial inclusion.