Financial Sector & Digitalization
The Financial and Digitization Area monitors the situation of the financial system, with special attention to the banking sector and groups of savings banks, and its digital transformation.
In this area, research of international diffusion in the financial system is carried out, developed by the researchers that form it and also through collaborations of the same with other world-renowned researchers. Among the topics that are most developed are financial and banking regulation and its effects, the competitive structure of the banking sector, the means of payment for business financing and the role of finance in economic growth.
The digital transformation of the Spanish financial system is analyzed through the Observatorio de la Digitalización Financiera (ODF). The objective of this Observatory is to generate, accumulate and disseminate information on the progress of the digital transformation in the Spanish financial system.
Highlighted
Artículo
Tensions in the U.S. and eurozone sovereign debt markets
Fecha:
June 2025
Transatlantic divergence in fiscal and monetary policies is driving renewed volatility in sovereign bond markets, with U.S. Treasury yields elevated and eurozone spreads widening, particularly in Germany. Going forward, the lack of economic policy coordination could continue to generate episodes of instability in international financial markets.
Artículo
Spanish versus European bank exposure to sovereign risk
Fecha:
June 2025
Spanish banks’ exposure to public debt has increased more sharply than the EU average, reaching 15.4% of total assets in 2024. Amortised cost accounting and international diversification help risk mitigation, while higher interest rates on public debt holdings have significantly boosted returns for the domestic business.
Artículo
Improving valuations for Spanish and European banks
Fecha:
June 2025
After years of trading below book value despite solid fundamentals, Spanish and European banks have seen a marked revaluation since late 2024, surpassing price to book value (P/BV) ratios of 1x. Improved margins have supported a strong recovery in valuations, narrowing the profitability gap with U.S. peers; however, structural and regulatory differences continue to explain the persistent valuation gap between European and U.S. banks.
Artículo
Tensiones en los mercados de deuda soberana de EE. UU. y la eurozona
Fecha:
May 2025
Este artículo destaca cómo la creciente politización de la política monetaria y fiscal genera movimientos abruptos en los rendimientos, con implicaciones
para la estabilidad financiera global.