Francisco González at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: "Now is the time for high politics"
BBVA Chairman and CEO Francisco González, shared his insights into some pressing issues following his participation at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Mr. González addressed some of the hottest topics affecting the Spanish economic and political landscape, as well as the global financial industry, and stated that “Spain needs a stable and realistic government, one that continues to work on the reforms we need to underpin growth.”
During his meeting with news agency EFE at Davos (Switzerland), Francisco González, Chairman and CEO of BBVA, said that “now is the time for high politics, for parties to reach an agreement and form a stable government, one that does not think about utopias – which only lead to frustration -, that is realistic and which continues to build on all the progress made over the past three or four years, because, at least from an economic standpoint, the outcome has been positive.”
Mr. González also emphasized the need for further reforms: “We need an agreement on education, to increase the credibility of the institutions, to reduce temporality in the job market, and, logically, cut the public deficit. There are still many things that need to be done and we need to keep at it, because, if anything, this crisis has proven how great we are as a country.”
Regarding the Spanish and global financial system, Francisco González explained that it “is currently facing many challenges:We need more capital, regulatory pressure is tightening, and, on top of that, global economic activity remains low, and spreads are declining.” In this regard, Mr. Gonzalo underscored that “our situation at BBVA is easier, because we are highly diversified, although it is evident that there is a strong correlation between the financial system and the global economy.” And, to conclude, he pointed out that, “the better the global economy performs, the better banks will perform; otherwise, the scenario will be quite different.”