MADRID (MNI) – The Bank of Spain’s new governor, Luis Maria Linde,
took office today claiming that the bank “will not fail.”
Linde said one of his most urgent priorities was to strengthen the
banking system in order to rebuild confidence and restore the “normal
financial flow of the banks.” He called for new tax coordination
measures and better integration of banking and finance within the EU.
Speaking at the same event, Linde’s predecessor Miguel Angel
Fernandez Ordonez said he hoped that the independence of the new
Governor “is not questioned.” Ordoez himself was severely criticized
for the strategy he followed to confront the financial crisis, which
ended in Spain requesting bailout funds to recapitalize its banks. He
was forced to leave office one month before his term officially ended.
As the new head of the Bank of Spain, Linde will also take the
country’s seat on the Governing Council of the European Central Bank.
Among those attending his inaugural ceremony were Jose Manuel
Gonzalez-Paramo, former member of the ECB’s Executive board, and
Francisco Gonzalez, chairman of BBVA, which is one of the few banks in
Spain whose rating remains at investment grade after a massive downgrade
by Moody’s Monday night of 28 Spanish banks – most of them to junk
status.
Also Attending was Jose Maria Goirigolzarri, current chairman of
the nationalized Bankia, one of the entities most affected by toxic
assets in Spain.
[TOPICS: M$S$$$,M$X$$$,MGX$$$,MT$$$$,M$$CR$]