Pablo Hernández de Cos (born January 20, 1971) is a Spanish economist who serves as the 70th

Governor of the Bank of Spain The Governor of the Bank of Spain ( es, Gobernador del Banco de España) is the head of the Bank of Spain, the central bank of the Kingdom of Spain. The Bank of Spain is integrated in the European System of Central Banks and, as such, the Governor ...

, as Chairman of the

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) is a committee of banking supervisory authorities that was established by the central bank governors of the Group of Ten (G10) countries in 1974. The committee expanded its membership in 2009 a ...

and as Chair of the Advisory Technical Committee of the

European Systemic Risk Board The European Systemic Risk Board () is a group established on 16 December 2010 in response to the ongoing financial crisis. It is tasked with the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the European Union in order to contrib ...

. Hernández de Cos is the second youngest governor since Spain's

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

after José Ramón Álvarez Rendueles, who was appointed governor in 1978, at the age of 38.

Early life and education

Hernández de Cos graduated in economic and business sciences from the University College of Financial Studies (CUNEF) in 1993, in law from the

National University of Distance Education The National Distance Education University, known in Spanish as ''Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia'' (UNED), is a public research university of national scope. The university was founded in 1972 under the Ministry of Universities. ...

the following year and obtained his PhD in economics from the Complutense University in 2004, whose thesis was directed by

José Manuel González-Páramo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

. In 2009 he completed a management programme at the IESE Business School of the

University of Navarra , image = UNAV.svg , latin_name = Universitas Studiorum Navarrensis , established = 17 October 1952 , type = Private, Roman Catholic , chancellor = Fernando Ocáriz Braña , president = María Iraburu Eliz ...

. He has been an associate lecturer at the Economics Department of

Charles III University of Madrid University Charles III of Madrid ( es, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) (UC3M) is a public university in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Established in 1989, UC3M is an institution with a distinctly international profile. It offers a broad rang ...

and the

IE Business School IE Business School is a graduate and undergraduate school of business, located in Madrid, Spain, European Union, Europe. It was founded in 1973 under the name Instituto de Empresa and since 2009 is part of IE University. IE Business School runs ...

(IE).

Career

Hernández de Cos joined the Bank of Spain in 1997 as economist of its research service. Between 2004 and 2007 he was advisor to the executive board of the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...

. From 2015 he held the position of general director of the Directorate General of Economy and Statistics of the organization after the resignation of Luis Malo de Molina who had held the position since 1992. On May 28, 2018, Hernández de Cos was proposed by the Spanish Government for the position of

governor of the Bank of Spain The Governor of the Bank of Spain ( es, Gobernador del Banco de España) is the head of the Bank of Spain, the central bank of the Kingdom of Spain. The Bank of Spain is integrated in the European System of Central Banks and, as such, the Governor ...

, and on May 30 was appointed to the position effective June 11; when he made a promise before

Felipe VI of Spain Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...

at a ceremony held at

Palace of Zarzuela The Zarzuela Palace ( es, Palacio de la Zarzuela ) is the residence and working offices of the reigning monarch of Spain (King Felipe VI), although the official residence of the Spanish royal family is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Zarzuela Pal ...

. His appointment was one of the last decisions of the Government of Mariano Rajoy before the

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

that was successful and resulted in the downfall of Rajoy's government. The press has highlighted the technical nature of Hernández de Cos' profile, with no political past. The Ministry of Economy, following the announcement of his appointment, stressed that "he is an excellent candidate for the post of governor due to his great technical training, particularly in banking and monetary matters; his political independence; and his experience and prestige in the Bank of Spain and the European Central Bank."

Unidos Podemos Unidas Podemos (), formerly called Unidos Podemos () and also known in English as United We Can, is a democratic socialist electoral alliance formed by Podemos, United Left, and other left-wing to far-left parties in May to contest the 2016 Sp ...

has described him as "a

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

, but with an impeccable technical profile and, at least, he knows economics." Hernández de Cos himself has publicly advocated for giving the Spanish parliament a greater role in the appointment of central bank chiefs and extending future governorship terms to eight years from six. In March 2019, Hernández de Cos succeeded

Stefan Ingves Stefan Nils Magnus Ingves (born 23 May 1953) is a Finnish-born Swedish banker, economist and civil servant who served as the Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, from 2006 to 2022. He serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Ban ...

as chairman of the

(BCBS) for a three-year term that can be renewed once.Caroline Binham (March 7, 2019)
Bank of Spain governor appointed head of Basel Committee for banks
�''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. In July 2019, he was appointed Chair of the Advisory Technical Committee of the

Other activities

International organizations

* Financial Stability Institute (FSI), member of the advisory board (since 2019) *

(ECB), ex officio member of the

governing council A personal ordinariate for former Anglicanism, Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St ...

(since 2018) *

(ESRB), ex officio member (since 2018) *

Financial Stability Board The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established after the G20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum ...

(FSB), ex officio member (since 2018) *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF), ex officio alternate member of the board of governors (since 2018)Members

(IMF).

Non-profit organizations

* Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (CEMLA), member of the board of trustees (since 2018) * Consejo Superior de Estadística de España, member * Foundation for Applied Economics Studies, member of the board of trustees and executive commission * Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros (CEMFI), member of the board of trustees (2015–2018)

References

External links

CV in the Bank of Spain websiteImages in Bank of Spain's Flickr account
in the IDEAS-RePEc database {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez de Cos, Pablo Spanish economists Governors of the Bank of Spain 1971 births Living people Complutense University of Madrid alumni