CECA joins as a member of the EBI and reaffirms its international positioning
CECA strengthens its relationship with the European Banking Institute (EBI) by becoming an active member of the institution. Within the framework of this agreement, since Friday, April 27, José María Méndez, General Director of CECA, has been part of the Advisory Council of the EBI.
As an international center for banking studies, the EBI aims to become the reference point for research on banking regulation in Europe and an instrument to facilitate interactions between academia, supervisors, regulators, and industry. Furthermore, from its position in Frankfurt, very close to the European Central Bank, it is consolidating as a reference for academic support for this authority.
Among its objectives is to develop into a genuinely pan-European think tank in the areas of regulation, supervision, and banking resolution, as well as in any related field.
José María Méndez emphasized that “this alliance represents a great opportunity to work together with a prestigious institution with the aim of achieving more efficient regulation for credit institutions in Spain and Europe.”
For his part, Thomas Gstaedner, President of EBI, stated: “CECA’s participation is of great importance because it plays a crucial role in the Spanish financial market. The speed at which banking regulation and supervision advance in Europe requires close dialogue between academia, industry, and supervisors, enhanced by high-quality academic studies.”
In this way, CECA strengthens its international strategic positioning, which currently already has a strong representation outside Spain; the institution is present in 39 working groups and in 12 different international organizations.
Notable is the close collaboration it maintains with the European Savings Banks and Retail Banks Group (ESBG), whose Presidents’ Committee and Board of Directors is chaired by Isidro Fainé, president of CECA. CECA participates in all its Committees and Working Groups, as well as in the development of joint positions related to current political and regulatory affairs.
At a global level, Isidro Fainé also holds the vice-presidency of the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), from where he strengthens CECA’s positioning on issues that are highly relevant to the international agenda, such as innovation and financial education, allowing its member entities to have a voice and a prominent role in matters to be discussed in international forums such as the G-20, the Basel Committee, or the Financial Stability Forum.
In the context of consolidating the Banking Union, CECA maintains a solid relationship with the European Central Bank. In this regard, CECA relies on the Cecabank office in Frankfurt, where the European Single Supervisory Mechanism is established, and the representation office in Paris, which promotes interaction with other European supervisory authorities, such as the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and soon, the European Banking Authority (EBA).
Additionally, CECA is a member of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), through which it participates in regulatory and legislative initiatives, providing its members access to a wide range of reports produced by professionals from the Institute.
Through this international network, CECA develops its dialogue with international regulatory agents, making it available to all its members, and thus working towards its reference objective: to represent the interests of its associates at both national and international levels.
