Press room

International presence of the Banco de España

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

  One of the activities of the Banco de España that it 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).

  In addition to belonging to the ESCB, the Banco de España forms part of other important international forums, such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) , the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA) and the Organisation 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 takes part in the Committe of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) , created in November 2003. The functions of this committee include contributing to convergence in the supervision practices of member states and strengthening cooperation in this matter.

• What are the Banco de España's priorities in international economic analysis?

  Aside from carrying out economic studies of Spain and the euro area, the Banco de España also monitors the world's leading developed economies and emerging markets in detail, especially the economies of Latin America. The BE has been carrying out this work for many years in response to the growing internationalisation of the Spanish economy and the 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 biannual report, included in the Boletín Económico , focuses on monitoring and analysing the economies in the region, providing information in response to the great interest at present in these markets.