CECA and Universidad Pontificia Comillas Establish the First Banking Regulation Chair in Spain

• The initiative aims to promote academic analysis on the economic impact of banking regulation

• The collaboration includes academic publications, seminars, international agreements, and an annual conference with regulators, academics, and sector professionals

• The collaboration agreement has been signed by Antonio Romero, General Director of CECA, and Antonio Allende SJ, Rector of Universidad Pontificia Comillas

CECA, the Spanish association of retail banks and savings banks, and Universidad Pontificia Comillas have signed a collaboration agreement to establish the CECA-ICADE Banking Regulation Chair, the first of its kind in Spain. The project aims to promote cutting-edge academic research on the economic impact of banking regulation and provide robust evidence for public debate.

The new Chair aspires to become a reference academic center for the economic analysis of banking regulation, with a particular focus on its effects on the activities of financial institutions, financing of the real economy, and the competitiveness of the financial sector.

In parallel, the agreement will facilitate that students from the Jesuit university in Madrid can undertake curricular internships at CECA, thus reinforcing the connection between the academic field and the professional reality of the financial sector.

“Regulation has a decisive impact on the activities of Spanish banking institutions and their ability to provide financing to the real economy. The creation of this Chair represents a key step towards obtaining rigorous analyses of this impact, providing empirical evidence for public debate, and facilitating decision-making for institutions and supervisors,” stated Antonio Romero, General Director of CECA, during the signing of the agreement held at the Comillas ICADE headquarters.

For his part, Antonio Allende SJ, Rector of Universidad Pontificia Comillas, pointed out that this Chair “is composed of a group of recognized professors and researchers with the goal of generating high-quality applied academic knowledge about the economic effects of banking regulation, contributing both to the advancement of scientific research and to informed decision-making in the Spanish financial sector.”

Reference Academic Center

The initiative responds to the need for Spain to have a specialized academic space that contributes to anticipating the economic impact of new regulations, enriching the technical debate with authorities, and supporting strategic decision-making in the sector.

Within the framework of the CECA-ICADE Banking Regulation Chair, academic publications, conferences, and specialized seminars in banking regulation will be promoted. Additionally, the signing of collaboration agreements with prestigious international universities is planned to develop joint research and training projects.

Among the planned activities is the organization of an annual conference on banking regulation, which will bring together researchers, regulators, and sector professionals to foster technical dialogue and knowledge exchange.

During the 2026-2027 academic year, the Chair will focus a significant part of its research activity on the analysis of regulatory simplification measures and the improvement of banking competitiveness.

Among other topics, the effects of micro and macroprudential measures related to capital requirements will also be analyzed, as well as issues related to the Capital Markets Union and the Savings and Investment Union (SIU). A specific line dedicated to the payment sector will also be promoted, with particular attention to financial innovation associated with the digital euro, stablecoins, and tokenization.

Direction and Advisory Council

The Chair will be co-directed by José María Abad, professor in the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences of Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Comillas ICADE), and Teresa Herrero, Director of Studies at CECA.

It will also have an Advisory Council responsible for defining the lines of research at the beginning of each academic year and supporting the research team in the execution of projects. This body will be composed of distinguished professionals from the financial sector, with representation from CECA, FUNCAS, Comillas ICADE, and financial institutions.