financial crisis, the reputation of economic policymakers, of central banks in particular and, indeed, of the economics profession as a whole was enormously dented. 4 / 5 testifying to this were the regulatory and institutional changes set in train to prevent similar situations from recurring. however, the real test, where we place our social prestige and credibility on the line, will involve us truly being able to identify risks and vulnerabilities in due time, being able to issue warnings about them and, within our remit, being able to act to mitigate them or to contribute decisively to other players acting when they must. all this must be attained in a setting in which new developments and circumstances will be emerging – and they are in fact appearing already – to make our analytical and supervisory tasks more demanding. in any event, enjoying society ’ s trust and recognition will involve being able to respond successfully to this challenge. to be able to accomplish our mission and reach both objectives, the banco de espana is going to have to adapt. but such adaptation must also stand on sound pillars. the first of these pillars is our independence. independence is a necessary condition for achieving the aforementioned objectives and it is independence alone that can offer us the best guarantees of success. secondly, the exercise of independence should be underpinned by analysis and decisions based on the utmost intellectual rigour. this is also the best base from which to address the necessary accountability and transparency to society. thirdly, we can only properly perform our dual role of members of the eurosystem and public servants by the pursuit of excellence in our work and by promoting the excellence of our staff. such excellence has been and is, no doubt, one of the hallmarks of this institution. it is my firm commitment to maintain and enhance the bank ’ s human capital. to conclude, i shall adhere to the tradition launched by governor linde when he took office and end, as he did, with a quote. in tribute to the governor, as i know that fernando pessoa is one of his favourite poets, i'd like to quote his “ odes by ricardo reis ”, in which he reminds us of the importance of being truly committed to our work. “ to be great, be whole : don ’ t exaggerate or leave out any part of you. be complete in each thing. put all you are into the least of your acts. " thank you all for being here. 5 / 5

miguel fernandez ordonez : the challenges to the spanish banking system in the face of the global crisis speech by mr miguel fernandez ordonez, governor of the bank of spain, at the 50th anniversary of esade, barcelona, 30 october 2008. * * * i have the pleasure of celebrating today with you the 50th anniversary of this institution. over this half - century, esade has earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious business schools in the world. education and training is the most important factor driving economic and social development. i therefore wish to begin by congratulating you on the work you have done and encouraging you to continue on this path. the crisis besetting the international financial system will henceforth be a mandatory topic of study in your classrooms. the events unfolding continuously since august 2007, and with particular virulence since september this year, make the current crisis the most serious one in living memory. this crisis, like others before it, manifested itself as a loss of confidence by the agents participating in the financial markets. nevertheless, there are features which make it different : its degree of complexity, its global span and the speed with which the problems spread from one financial system to another are unprecedented. the current situation is further complicated by the notable weakness of the global economy. in these circumstances, the interrelatedness of financial and economic factors further contributes to the deterioration of the situation. in the face of this exceptional conjuncture, the monetary authorities and the governments of the main developed economies have acted in coordination to adopt a set of far - reaching measures commensurate with the scale of the financial crisis facing us. although we cannot expect that these measures will immediately correct the difficult economic situation at hand, but rather that the process of adjustment will be slow and laborious, they should however help financial institutions to resume normal operations and restore confidence to the financial markets. how does this exceptionally difficult situation affect the spanish banking system? what means are available to those of us in spain who, in our different areas of responsibility, participate in the financial system? during my talk i will try to answer these two questions, but allow me first to dedicate a few minutes to clarifying where spain stands in the difficult situation besetting the international financial system. international context the financial crisis under way from summer 2007 to date can be divided into three phases. the first phase ran from august 2007 to the beginning of last september and was characterised by the impact of the financial turmoil on