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"It is not a question of designing new banking regulations, but of ensuring that the application of existing ones is correct". This was stated today by Jaime Caruana, Governor of the Bank of Spain (2000-2006), at a lecture organized in Madrid by the Master's Degree in Banking and Financial Regulation of the University of Navarra, at partnership with signature Cuatrecasas.

Now that Economics is improving, he said, it is time to analyze the impact that financial regulation has had. Caruana believes that it has allowed the banking sector to improve significantly and that market Structures and resolution frameworks have been strengthened.

Although there have been improvements, there is still much to be done, he said. Along these lines, he assured that the creation of the Single European Supervisory Mechanism is one of the most important steps that has been taken in recent years in the banking regulation sector.

Many times," Caruana added, "it is believed that if you have good regulation and supervision you already have financial stability, which is not the case. Financial stability is a broader concept and requires not only good regulation but also good economic policies, especially monetary and fiscal subject ".

The expert concluded that now is not the time to lower our guard and reminded us that "we must not forget the old challenges: cleaning up balance sheets, especially impaired assets, achieving profitability and regaining the confidence of society".

After the lecture a roundtable was held with the participation of Jaime Caruana and other professionals from the banking sector: Alberto Calles (partner PwC), Ricardo Gómez Barredo (Head of Accounting & Supervisors - BBVA) and José Sevilla (CEO of Bankia and Chairman of committee advisor of Master's Degree in Banking and Financial Regulation). This activity was moderated by Fernando Mínguez (partner Cuatrecasas).