The president of the European Banking Authority (EBA), José Manuel Campa, expressed this Friday his reluctance with the extraordinary banking tax applied by the Government in Spain, despite recognizing that in “more than half” of European countries Similar measures have been applied.
“From the point of view of prudence, it is better that the money stays within the” banking sector, he stated during a breakfast organized by the Forum Europe. He has done so after demanding precisely that, “prudence”, from Spanish entities, given the “good profitability” caused by interest rate increases.
Banks are faced with “an opportunity to take advantage of the good times and prepare for the future because interest rate increases have to show up in increases in bad debts,” the head of the banking authority has warned.
Campa has not assessed the possibility of making the tax permanent, as the PSOE and Sumar have agreed, but he has indicated that “the tax was imposed at a time in the correct cycle” and that “it is not a situation unique to Spaniards.”
In fact, he explained, these types of taxes are common in countries where the majority of credits are linked to a variable rate. “It is closely linked to the way in which credit is distributed in the economy” and “in France most of it is at a fixed rate, so the debate does not exist.”
When asked about the proposal of the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, to limit the salaries of senior managers, Campa considered that this practice “is not a natural economic measure.”
However, he has indicated that the EBA is “a great believer in the way of structuring remuneration”, and in that regard he has been in favor of limiting variable remuneration compared to fixed remuneration, of adding bonus malus to incentive bonuses. and control elements associated with risk, such as the delivery of shares or extraordinary cash payments.
