Statements by José María Méndez at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Finresp

José María Méndez, General Director of CECA and President of Finresp, highlighted today during his speech at the “2025 Annual Meeting” of Finresp (Center for Responsible and Sustainable Finance in Spain): “Finresp supports the just transition towards a decarbonized economy, with a special focus on accompanying our clients, particularly SMEs, which are our priority given the fragmentation of our productive fabric.” Specifically, he emphasized:

• Finresp reflects that sustainability is a shared and cross-cutting strategy in the Spanish financial sector and a widely held conviction among those of us who work in the financial world.
• Since the foundation of Finresp, financial entities have worked to establish sustainability governance, offer new products and services aligned with decarbonization, and assist their clients in managing climate risks.
• In Europe, while we reiterate commitments under the Green Deal, we navigate a geopolitical and economic crossroads with significant implications.
• The European Union is immersed in a strategic reflection process that, in terms of sustainability, has materialized by announcing the streamlining of reporting requirements through the Omnibus proposal and a 100 billion euro industrial decarbonization plan.
• These plans confirm Europe’s belief that sustainability must go beyond mere regulatory requirements; it should be viewed as a driver of growth for our productive fabric.
• The way we view sustainability is adapting to the reality of the international context and the reality of our companies.
• The context favors integration with projects such as eurobonds (or the creation of a mutualized risk-free asset).
• Additionally, the financing needs of the strategic contribution could be so substantial that we must advance in the Capital Markets Union and in the Banking Union through a unique Deposit Guarantee Fund.
• The geopolitical context favors European consensus to make this possible. The argument, made a few years ago, that there could be no “Risk Sharing” without “Risk Reduction” can no longer be used. The financial system in southern Europe has reduced its Non-Performing Loans, and today its delinquency is comparable to that of its European competitors. We are, therefore, facing a historic opportunity.