Francisco González: "Regulation should focus on growth"
The Chairman & CEO of BBVA, Francisco González, stressed at the summit in Turkey that authorities should start to wrap up the financial reform agenda to take a breather and analyze its impact on the recovery. “Regulation must focus on growth and not just financial stability,” said Francisco González at the summit, where business leaders share their opinions with politicians on the major challenges facing the global economy.
This morning Francisco González participated in the joint meeting of the B20 with G20 leaders, after yesterday taking part in the B20 meeting in Antalya, in Southern Turkey. Francisco González put forward two recommendations to the political leaders. The first is to take a breather in the financial reform agenda to assess its impact on the economy. The Chairman & CEO of BBVA believes that after a global financial crisis, it is normal for regulators to focus on stability, but that it is time to closely analyze the impact of regulation so that it doesn’t weigh on economic growth and lending. He also underscored that there must be greater consistency between regulations and countries.
The biggest challenge the G20 summit faces is how to boost global economic growth
In his opinion, the biggest challenge the G20 summit faces is how to boost global economic growth. BBVA Research’s forecast indicates the global economy in 2015 might reach its lowest growth rate since 2009. The slowdown in emerging markets, especially in China, imperils the pace of growth in developed markets.
As a possible countermeasure, the Chairman & CEO of BBVA proposed promoting digital development because it boosts growth. In this regard, he believes that regulations also play an important role, as a way of protecting consumers but, at the same time, they should foment the advantages to be gained from technological advances.
As a second recommendation, Francisco González asked the leaders to provide small and medium-sized businesses with better ways of accessing financing.
During his stay in Antalya, the Chairman & CEO of BBVA expressed his solidarity with the French people after the terrorist attacks perpetrated last Friday. “The pain must contribute to even greater unity in the fight against terrorism”, he said from Turkey, a country that recently suffered the worst terrorist attack of its history.
As for Spain, the Chairman & CEO of BBVA has also observed that in forums such as these, the country’s prestige has become more evident. In his opinion, the strength of the Spanish economy has been widely recognized, despite the uncertainties raised by some very specific political situations. Francisco González believes that Spain is an enviable position to remain one of Europe’s growth drivers. In this regard, he believes it’s crucial for the Government that arises from the elections to be stable and focus on reforms that ensure a sustainable growth model.
BBVA has presided one of the work groups of the B20, a meeting held at the same time as the G20, where the business community makes recommendations to political leaders on the most relevant issues affecting the global economy. The B20 plays a crucial role in building bridges and dialogue between global economic policies and business communities. Francisco González, along with José Manuel González-Páramo, executive director, has led the work group focused on developing financial markets.