PricewaterhouseCoopers and IE Business School launch Spain’s first Center for the analysis of challenges facing the finance sector

PricewaterhouseCoopers  and IE Business School have launched the  PwC/IE Center for the Finance Sector, the first of its kind in Spain. The Center will act independently of investment and savings banks and will analyze the challenges facing the Spanish and international finance sector, the future of regulation and monitoring in the sector, and the changes that banks will have to make to avoid further financial crises. Luis de Guindos, former secretary of state for finance, who has links to both IE and PWC, will direct the new Center.

The Center will promote the organization of meetings and the publication of research work aimed at achieving a more effective and competitive finance sector. The main lines of action will focus on the restructuring of the finance sector, international trends, the regulatory framework, and the future of credit entities.  Members of the Center’s executive committee  will include the presidents of PwC and IE Business School, Carlos Mas and Diego del Alcázar, respectively, while the faculty will comprise experts from both institutions. The new forum will also serve to amalgamate the previously independent PwC and IE Business School Centers for the Public Sector and Corporate Governance.

Luis de Guindos feels that the center will serve as a catalyst to advance the burning debate that will help shape key immediate decisions for the sector. “In the current economic climate, debate on the future of the finance sector is set to play a pivotal role. We have to study the new model for the regulation and monitoring of the finance sector, and gauge the impact of possible changes on the real economy and the prevention of further crises.”

Luis de Guindos has extensive experience in both the public and private sector. He has served as Spain’s Secretary of State for Economy, as partner and member of the board of AB Asesores, and as president of Lehman Brothers for Spain and Portugal. De Guindos has directed and drafted reports and publications on the finance sector, including the book ‘Pasado, presente y futuro de las cajas de ahorros’.

PwC has actively contributed to research on problems and trends in the field of business and management for decades. The firm publishes some hundred publications each year and collaborates with leading universities and business schools to foster  responsible leadership.