Arnal, Calviño’s former chief of staff, and Professor Cabrales, new directors of the Banco de España
The government will next Tuesday appoint Judith Arnal – former chief of staff of the first vice-president, Nadia Calviño – and Professor of Economics Antonio Cabrales, proposed by the PP, as directors of the Bank of Spain to fill the vacancies of two directors whose terms of office have ended.
The two new directors of the Bank of Spain are “technical profiles of recognised prestige” and will replace Fernando Eguidazu and Carmen Alonso at the institution, according to sources from the Executive, who informed EFE on Sunday.
Judith Arnal holds a PhD in Economics and Business from the University of Navarre, is a commercial technician and State economist, has a Master’s degree in Macroeconometrics and Finance from the Menéndez Pelayo International University, a Master’s degree in Portfolio Management from the Institute of Stock Market Studies and a degree in Law and Economics from the University of Navarre.
Antonio Cabrales holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California, San Diego, and is a professor at the Universidad Carlos III. He has been a professor at University College London, and at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. He is Executive Vice-President of the European Economic Association, former President of the Spanish Economic Association, and Honorary Fellow of the Econometric Society.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Both directors also have extensive professional careers. In addition to having been Calviño’s chief of staff, Judith Arnal has been a director of the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), Red.es and the Empresa Nacional de Innovación (ENISA).
She also worked at the Public Treasury for 10 years and headed the Financial Analysis Department. She has been chair of the Financial Sandbox Monitoring Committee and of the Technical Subcommittee of the Spanish Macroprudential Authority, in charge of assessing the impact of fiscal measures against the pandemic.
Arnal is currently a member of the Scientific Council of the Elcano Royal Institute.
At the European level, she chaired for almost 4 years the Eurogroup Working Group Task Force on Coordinated Action (EWG TFCA), in charge of the reform of the European Stability Mechanism and the deepening of the Banking Union. She was also the Spanish representative on the European Union’s Financial Services Committee for two years.
For his part, Antonio Cabrales, in addition to being awarded the Rei Jaume I prize for Economics 2021 in recognition of his work and contributions in the field of game theory, behavioural and experimental economics, and the analysis of complex networks, including social networks, has been one of the experts who have participated in the preparation of the ‘Spain 2050’ agenda.
He is associate editor of the Journal of Economic Theory and was editor of BEPress JEAP and Investigaciones Económicas, and associate editor of JEEA and SERIEs. He has published in journals such as American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Financial Studies. Management Science, and Physical Review Letter.
THE BOARD OF THE BANCO DE ESPAÑA
The Governing Council of the Banco de España is made up of the Governor, Pablo Hernández de Cos; the Deputy Governor, Margarita Delgado; the Secretary General of the Treasury, Carlos Cuerpo; the Vice-President of the National Securities Market Commission, Montserrat Martínez, and six directors proposed by the government.
Until last week, these six directors were Carles Manera, Núria Mas, Soledad Núñez, Luis Servén, Fernando Eguidazu and Carmen Alonso. However, the latter two have already completed their six-year terms and their seats will now be taken by Judith Arnal and Antonio Cabrales.
At the time, following tradition, the two major parties shared the choice of candidates, with the PP proposing Fernando Egidazu and the PSOE Carmen Alonso.
Now, before the mandate of both expired, the Government, from Nadia Calviño’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, contacted the PP so that the main opposition party could propose a candidate, and they chose Antonio Cabrales, as confirmed by the PP.
The Law of Autonomy of the Bank of Spain establishes that the six directors of the supervisor will be appointed by the government, at the proposal of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, “after hearing the governor of the Bank of Spain”.
In other words, the Government and the PP have agreed on the names to fill the two vacancies that have arisen and the Ministry has submitted the proposal to the governor before its approval next Tuesday by the Council of Ministers.
The governing council of the Banco de España approves the general guidelines for action of the institution, in particular those relating to monetary policy, the application of which it supervises; circulars; proposals for sanctions; the resolutions necessary for the performance of the functions entrusted to the body and which are not the exclusive competence of the executive commission.
In addition, the Governing Council of the Banco de España, which meets at least ten times a year, ratifies the appointments of the institution’s Directors General.
