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Finance

Finance

Banks play a critical role as providers of funds to the real economy. In this regard, the active management of the balance sheet has become more and more important, and is now a strategic area for financial institutions. Some of its key goals are guaranteeing liquidity, strengthening solvency and reducing exposure to credit risk.

A bank balance sheet is a key way to draw conclusions regarding a bank’s business and the resources used to be able to finance lending. The volume of business of a bank is included in its balance sheet for both assets (lending) and liabilities (customer deposits or other financial instruments).

The core activity of a bank is financial intermediation. This function entails using resources from customers (liabilities) to offer financing to the same or other bank customers (assets). Therefore, it is essential to be able to understand a bank’s balance sheet and each line linked directly to customers.

Financial regulation and innovation seem like polar opposites, yet they are forced to get along and collaborate. This is apparent from one of the panels at today’s IIF Annual Meeting in Washington. The only representative of a bank, BBVA’s Executive Director participated in the panel which included renowned representatives of regulators and supervisors.

As part of the IMF’s annual meeting in Washington, José Manuel González-Páramo participated yesterday in the B-20 meeting, the international business equivalent of the G20. BBVA’s Executive Director used the opportunity to urge the G20 to develop a clear regulatory framework that complement growth economic measures.