Nancy Hughes Anthony

Canada and Spain: The importance of a stable and strong financial system

The Rafael del Pino Foundation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Canada, hosted Nancy Hughes Anthony's Keynote Lecture "Canada and Spain: The Importance of a Stable and Strong Financial System" on 22 February 2011.

Nancy Hughes Anthony said: "The main risk currently facing the international financial system lies in the sovereign debt of some countries. The financial economy and the real economy, in these nations, run in parallel. It's a current problem, but it's going to be projected; it's going to have implications for the future".

Nancy Hughes Anthony argued that there are several factors that explain the lack of contagion in Canadian banking from the problems of the US financial industry: "The first is prudence. Canadian banks are prudent by nature; there has been no subprime problem, no high-risk products; there is nothing like that in Canada. The second is the very high level of capital requirements in my country's financial system. Canadian banks have about 12% of capital within TIER 1, on average. Third, supervisory authorities function very well and regulation is clear, transparent and comprehensive, which also helps a lot. Finally, I would highlight the absence of serious mortgage problems, unlike in the US.

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The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.