Press room

International presence of the Banco de España

• What is the involvement of Banco de España in international forums?

  One of the activities that the Banco de España has developed most over recent years has been its participation in various international forums.

  In particular, it is a member of the European System of Central Banks. The Bank is actively involved in the ESCB, both in terms of its governing bodies (on which the Governor sits), and in the System's various committees and working groups (which are attended by many of the Banco de España's technical experts).

  As well as belonging to the ESCB, the Banco de España is a participant in important international forums, such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the Centre for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) .

  Within the context of the European Union, the most important forum that the Banco de España attends is the Economic and Financial Committee, which carries out ECOFIN's work in relation to the economic and financial situation, the euro exchange rate and relations with non-EU countries and European institutions. The Banco de España also participates in the European Banking Authority (EBA) , which replaced the Committee of European Banking Supervisors in January 2011, assuming its functions. The EBA's tasks include contributing to the convergence of Member States' supervisory practices, and reinforcing their cooperation in this area.

• What are the priorities of the Banco de España in terms of international economic analysis?

  Aside from carrying out economic studies of Spain and the euro area, the Banco de España also closely monitors the world's leading developed economies and emerging markets, especially the economies of Latin America. The Banco de España has been carrying out this work for many years in response to the growing internationalization of the Spanish economy and the existence of a globalised financial system.

  In the particular case of analysis of the Latin American economies, this work benefits from the Banco de España's close relations with the central banks and banking supervisors in the region, as well as with multilateral bodies and the academic world there. These relationships are also complemented by technical cooperation activities in areas of mutual interest, such as developing monetary policy or payment systems.

  This analysis and cooperation work results in the status report that the Banco de España publishes on the economies of Latin America. This half-yearly report, included in the Economic Bulletin, focuses on the monitoring and analysis of the region's economies, thereby responding to the significant interest that they are currently arousing.