Pablo Hernández de Cos: Challenges for the Spanish economy in the face of the impact of the pandemic

Speech by Mr Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain and Chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, in the webinar "Economy, work and society in Spain. The impact of COVID-19" by the Spanish Economic and Social Council (CES), 23 July 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Honourable Minister for Labour and Social Economy, Chair of the Spanish Economic and Social Council, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is a pleasure to be able to participate today in this presentation of the Annual Report of the Economic and Social Council (CES). As earlier highlighted, its content goes beyond the 2019 timeframe of events and delves into the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic entails for the economy, for social cohesion and for the labour market in Spain. In this respect, the CES and the Banco de España have concurred in recent weeks that our respective studies and annual reports should strive to be useful instruments that help society face these challenging times.

An incipient, incomplete, uncertain and uneven recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a very high price in terms of human lives as well as deep-seated disruption to society and the economy.