Spain Business
Spain Business Brief – Tuesday November 17 2009
By m.p. - Nov 17, 2009 - 12:50 PM
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Emilio Botín speaking at the International Banking Conference - EFE
Santander Chairman defends the bigger banks - risk, not size, is the problem
The Chairman of the Banco Santander, Emilio Botín, believes the larger banks should not be penalised through greater regulatory capital requirements, saying that it is the risk and not the size which is the problem. Speaking at the International Banking Conference held in Santander’s financial city complex in Boadilla del Monte, he said the larger banks are also needed, as it is only they who have been able to come to the rescue of other banks in difficulty. He said, that while there is still some way to go, the financial system is now flowing fluidly after measures brought in by governments and central banks to address the crisis. Efficient supervision and appropriate regulation will then be needed he said, but without indiscriminate regulatory requirements which could be counter-productive.
In Spain’s service sector, the fall-off in sales and employment has slowed somewhat for September. The National Statistics Institute’s overall figure for the sector’s sales was a 10.6% reduction on September 2008, a slight recovery on the August figure of 13.4%. Employment was down by 6%, also a lower figure than in August.
And while the recession is having an important effect on Spain’s tourism sector, the situation does not appear to be as bad for the country’s network of state Parador hotels. The Chairman of the public company, Miguel Martínez, has announced that income and occupancy levels were up this summer compared to last and he expects the final accounting figures for this year to show results similar to last. A 5% increase is forecast for 2010. He described the news as ‘magnificent’.
In the fashion sector, Burberry has marked out Spain as one of its weakest markets. They’ve seen sales drop by 37%, half of that, El País said, due to the closure of the Thomas Burberry stores. The company has 137 stores across the country. H&M have also seen declining sales in Spain, for the first time since they opened their first store here.
And finally, the Financial Times has published its ranking of the European Union’s best finance ministers, and Spain’s Elena Salgado, who’s been in the job since the Cabinet reshuffle this April, comes out as one of the worst. She gets position No. 16 on the FT’s league table of 19 ministers. She is however seen as slightly better than her predecessor, Pedro Solbes, who came out at No. 17 in last year’s ranking.