Goirigolzarri (CaixaBank) advocates an income agreement that avoids second-round effects due to inflation

Ask politicians "generosity" to generate cohesion between education and employment

MADRID, 31 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of CaixaBank, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, has warned that, if second-round effects occur in the price spiral, the anchor of inflation expectations will disappear and management of the current economic situation will be complicated.

This was stated during a breakfast organized by the Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives (CEDE), after being asked about the consequences of not reaching an income pact to stop the escalation of inflation.

Goirigolzarri has pointed out that the inflationary movement precedes the invasion of Ukraine, which has increased tensions, so the discussion focuses on the level of depth and the maintenance of inflation.

On the one hand, the manager explained that central banks must "get it right" with monetary policy to curb inflation, which requires raising interest rates. In this sense, he recalled that the market points to a rise of around 1.5%, which would not be an abrupt rise that could harm the economy.

Regarding the income agreement, he stressed that, although inflation is a monetary phenomenon, it is also a psychological phenomenon.

"That is to say, here it is about the anchoring of inflation expectations. If the central banks get the population to think that inflation expectations are anchored and that this is a transitory process, we will not have any problem. If we get into second-hand effects Round, that anchor is going to disappear. That is where the management would be much more complicated", Goirigolzarri warned.

The president of CaixaBank has valued the response that Europe is giving to this new situation and has assured that "when Europe joins in the action, the results are good", as reflected during the pandemic. However, he has recognized that the EU faces relevant challenges, such as completing the Banking Union, which is "essential for the consolidation of the euro".

"We have also realized, very abruptly, that we need higher levels of autonomy, from a strategic, security, technology or energy point of view (...). We concluded that, perhaps, We had to reflect on the idea of ​​globalization without geographical limits and we did that reflection on the supply chain again after the invasion of Ukraine, because it also has considerations of political risks and how do you define that chain", he explained.

In this sense, Goirigolzarri has highlighted that the current situation challenges countries and companies, because although they face challenges, situations of change "always generate opportunities" and the agents that understand the change will come out stronger.

"What we have to convey is that, from non-fatalism, there are enormous opportunities. What we have to do is become obsessed with taking advantage of those opportunities and that is applicable from the individual, business and country point of view. It seems that it is lethal, it leads you to inaction and in the face of complacency you have to have a sports spirit and be intellectually humble", he stated.

During his speech at the CEDE Breakfast, the banker emphasized the training and education project, which he considers to be "the most attractive and important project" in Spanish society, and recognized that there is currently a growing decoupling between the supply and the demand for jobs.

In his opinion, this requires "an enormous reaction" in which education and employment have a cohesion that they do not have now. In this sense, Goirigolzarri has highlighted that dual training is "absolutely key".

However, he has recognized the difficulty of overcoming this medium and long-term challenge "if one is thinking only of the next elections" and if there are certain aspects "that can be misunderstood or that certain sectors of society do not like" .

"When one is going to receive the benefit of that in 4 or 8 years, the truth is that it requires generosity. I think we would all like it, and we ask our political class to have generosity. That is the great hope", the manager has pointed out.