Combined with the growth differential the Spanish economy still enjoys, this has allowed Spanish institutions to negotiate the difficulties thrown up last year with a limited impact on their earnings, and this despite the difficulties in Latin American markets. In turn, historically low default levels in the domestic market, despite the strong expansion of credit in recent years, and the strength of own funds mean that, on the financial side, there are no constraints on the process of economic recovery. In this setting, rising to the challenge of a complex international financial situation underscores the importance for institutions of continuing to strive to improve the efficiency and solvency of our system. They must apply greater rigour to the analysis, extension and monitoring of credit transactions and  BIS Review 31/2003  7  make recovery procedures more flexible. The heightened competition in the Spanish banking industry, with the subsequent benefits in terms of efficiency for borrowers and depositors, will - combined with historically low interest rates - require of banks a major drive to cut costs so as to increase efficiency. The challenges posed by the current cyclical juncture should not see us forget other more structural and medium-term challenges affecting financial institutions and, specifically, banks, savings banks and co-operatives. Given the far-reaching consequences for banking, such challenges include most notably the New Capital Accord and the implementation of International Accounting Standards (IAS). It should be clear that these new regulatory aspects go beyond a mere alteration of laws, decrees or Banco de España circulars.

The consolidated entity is expected to deliver a range of benefits, including:      Strategic leadership that is forward looking and proactive, with an enhanced ability to identify the challenges and risks of tomorrow and prepare for them today; Higher standards of governance and risk management, with an improved ability to leverage best practices across the schemes. As an example, a variety of access models have evolved in schemes over the years, and the NPSO is now in a great position to look across the schemes and consider which models deliver the best outcomes and risk management; and The development and delivery of a best in class New Payments Architecture. The NPSO is also set up to be a leader in the field of retail payments. And the Bank is now their counterpart in the UK wholesale payments space, following the move to direct delivery of CHAPS, the UK’s high value 3  payment system (HVPS) in November of last year. Collectively, these developments should lead to a considerable step change in risk management expertise, standards, and capabilities across the entirety of UK payments. As an example of the two organisations working together to bring such change to the payments industry across wholesale and retail, the NPSO and the Bank recently launched a joint consultation on ISO 20022. 4  This move towards harmonised messaging standards will enable the transportation of richer payments data, improved compatibility and therefore redirection across payment schemes, and new opportunities for collaboration and product development.