New Bank of Spain Head Escrivá Pleads for More Independence as He Takes Office

24 September 2024

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – José Luis Escrivá took office on Tuesday at the helm of the Bank of Spain, urging that independence and impartiality be strengthened at the institution he now heads.

In his first speech as governor, in which capacity he is also a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, he highlighted the importance of the national central bank’s independence amid controversy surrounding his appointment. Escrivá had been serving as minister of digital affairs in the Spanish government when called on to head the Bank of Spain.

‘The proper functioning of democratic societies requires impartial institutions that exercise delegated powers under limited mandates, whose delegation is justified…’, he said.

Central banks are a paradigmatic example of this need, which is why high levels of institutional, functional, financial and legal autonomy are granted to them, he said.

The new governor announced in his inaugural speech that the Bank of Spain would ponder changing some aspects of the law that has regulated the bank’s autonomy for more than 30 years.

‘Revisiting aspects of the law that could further strengthen its independence is, without a doubt, an issue that must be assessed. But the elements of openness, communication with society, explaining and justifying activities must also be enhanced’, he said.

There is still room for improvement and innovation in terms of the bank’s goal of increased transparency, he observed.

‘All these elements will also be subject to examination by the new working group of the [Bank of Spain] Governing Council, so that, in this way, the reinforcement of independence, on the one hand, and transparency and accountability, on the other, go hand in hand, he said.