The bank returns to the charge against the tax on the banking sector. This time the warnings come from the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), from which they assure that it will put national entities at a disadvantage compared to their main European competitors. “It is not a conversation that needs to be had at this time,” said the president of the employers’ association, Alejandra Kindelán. In her opinion, the debate about this tax rate causes attention to shift in a context of high geopolitical risks and expectations of lower interest rates.
During his speech to present the conclusions of the Annual Assembly of the association held yesterday, Kindelán argued that if this measure goes ahead, Spain will be the only country on the Old Continent with a tax of these characteristics. “This is not the time to charge the banks with an additional 1,000 or 1,500 million because it would be a disadvantage,” he emphasized. Kindelán thus reiterates the criticisms launched from the bench, which have requested on several occasions a reformulation of it or its elimination. Thus, he has called for a “simpler regulatory framework that helps balance financial stability with the need to grow and compete.”
In this factor, the development of the Banking Union and the Capital Market plays a fundamental role, which is a “provision of the trillion-dollar investment needs.” Despite this, he has admitted that the relationship with the new Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Body, is “good” and that there is collaboration. It is worth remembering that last January the leaders of the sector already conveyed to Nadia Calviño’s successor the request to reconsider said rate.
Regarding the meeting held this Thursday in Moncloa between the Government and the developers, in which the general director of the AEB, María Abascal, also participated, representing the banks, to address the problems of housing in Spain, the president stated that the obstacles are not in the offer of mortgage credit. On the other hand, she has been more critical of the launch of the Financial Client Defense Authority at the initiative of the Executive, because in her opinion, the position of the AEB involves improving the already existing supervisory bodies (Bank of Spain, General Directorate of Insurance and National Securities Market Commission).
Regarding the abusiveness of credit contract clauses, it has requested that only the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) have the capacity to declare it. “Any possibility that the lower courts can declare clauses abusive and that the Authority assumes this can lead to confusion and will not be good for the claims system,” he stressed.
