José María Méndez, CEO of CECA and Chairman of Finresp, highlighted today during his speech at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Finresp (Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Finance in Spain): "Finresp supports the fair transition towards a decarbonised economy, with a particular focus on supporting our customers and within them SMEs which, taking into account the fragmentation of our production sector, are our priority".

Specifically, he highlighted:

  • Finresp reflects that sustainability is a shared and cross-cutting strategy of the Spanish financial sector and a widespread belief among those who work in the financial world.
  • Since the foundation of Finresp, financial institutions have worked to build sustainability governance, offer new products and services aligned with decarbonisation and help their customers manage climate risks.
  • In Europe, while we reiterate the commitments of the Green Deal, we are at a geopolitical and economic crossroads with substantial implications.
  • The European Union is immersed in a strategic reflection process that, in terms of sustainability, has materialised, announcing the simplification of reporting requirements through the Omnibus proposal and an industrial decarbonisation plan of 100 billion euros.
  • These plans prove that Europe is convinced that sustainability must go beyond mere regulatory requirements. It must be seen as a driver of growth for our production sector.
  • The way we consider sustainability is being adapted to the reality of the international context and to the reality of our companies.
  • The context encourages integration with projects such as eurobonds (or the creation of a risk-free mutualised asset).
  • In addition, the financing needs of the strategic contribution could be so great that we need to make progress in the Capital Markets Union and in the Banking Union through a single Deposit Guarantee Fund.
  • The geopolitical context favours the European consensus to make it possible. The argument from a few years ago, that there could be no “Risk Sharing” without “Risk Reduction”, can no longer be supported. The financial system in Southern Europe has reduced its Non-Performing Loans and today its default is comparable to those of its European competitors. We are therefore facing a historic opportunity.