Banking

ECB vice-president Luis de Guindos on risky non-banks: ‘the soft spot in the system’

For the vice-president of the European Central Bank, bringing inflation in the euro area back to 2 per cent is the ultimate goal – but he is concerned about vulnerabilities in the burgeoning shadow banking sector

European Central Bank vice-president Luis de Guindos: ‘The non-banks have taken a lot of risks during the times of very low interest rates.’ Picture: ECB

Luis de Guindos knows a thing or two about managing crises. Having worked with the Spanish arm of Lehman Brothers for two years up until the bank failed in 2008, he was subsequently made Spain’s minister of economy, steering his country through the aftermath of the financial crash.

Since 2018 he has been vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB), where he has dealt with the financial impact of a pandemic and now an inflationary ...