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Botín calls in Davos for speed and international cooperation to compete with fintech companies

The president of Banco Santander, Ana BotÃn, considers that digitization represents a “huge opportunity” for the financial sector, although in her speech at the World Economic Forum she underlined the importance of establishing a level playing field to compete with new players for which he has demanded an orderly and rapid solution, including international cooperation, according to Europa Press.

The banker stressed the importance of leveling the playing field with regard to fintech companies. Thus, he considers that if banks are to share payment data, the rest of the actors should open data that, in his opinion, “is crucial to compete in the digital economy.”

“We need to solve it, solve it in an orderly manner”, assured the president of Santander, who has expressed her desire that the solution arrive “quickly” and that it is not limited to Europe, for which she has expressed the importance of international cooperation.

“We are not asking for any favors. We want to be able to compete fairly (…) and if this happens I am confident that we can compete,” he said.

Botín, who participated in a conference with Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister, Thomas Buberl, CEO of Axa and Yi Gang, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, believes that digitization “represents a huge opportunity to grow , strengthen the financial system, reach more people, increase financial inclusion. ”

In addition, the banker addressed the crisis that has caused the pandemic. Thus, he believes that the most effective way to boost the economy again in 2021 would be vaccination. He also stressed the opportunity that the situation represents for Europe.

“As has happened in the past, when there is a crisis, Europe makes progress”, he stated, referring to the significant institutional progress registered in recent months in Europe, which has allowed the approval of a “historic initiative” such as the Next Generation fund, which it is “very important in the medium term”.

In this regard, Botín stressed that this is a critical step for Europe towards federalization, highlighting that for the first time the EU has issued its own debt. “The challenge for the EU now is how efficiently these funds will be used,” he pointed out, noting that there has been “a great crisis, but also a great new opportunity.”

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