- The standard completes the decree of July of last year that laid the foundations for the privatization of CESCE
- It seeks to contribute to the improvement of competitiveness and greater efficiency in internationalization policies
The Council of Ministers today approved the Draft Law on coverage by the State of the risks of the internationalization of the Spanish economy, an activity that the current regulations exclusively entrust to the Spanish Export Credit Insurance Company (CESCE) . The new law completes the provisions of Royal Decree Law 20/2012 of July 13 that laid the foundations for the privatization of CESCE. The objective is to achieve greater efficiency in the internationalization policies of the Spanish economy, contribute to the policy of fiscal consolidation and rationalization of the public sector, and adapt to the rules that govern the majority of the OECD Consensus countries.
The new standard replaces another from 1970 and makes an important contribution to improving the competitiveness of Spanish companies. Insurance on behalf of the State is, in this sense, an essential instrument, especially at a time of great dynamism in exports that is not only conjunctural but also structural in the medium term. What is sought is to guarantee the strength of the insurance on behalf of the State in the following aspects:
- It is a service of essential and strategic economic interest for the internationalization of the Spanish company.
- It has the advantage of complementing and complementing private financing, serving as a catalyst at times like the current one of insufficient financial resources to finance trade and investment operations.
- It must be developed within the framework of the common commercial policy of the European Union and guarantee that our exporters and investors have conditions as competitive as those of other actors in international markets.
The main novelties included in the draft bill are:
- The figure of the Managing Agent is established as the entity designated by the State to manage, on its behalf and exclusively, through a Management Agreement, certain risks of internationalization. A principle of subsidiarity is applied, by virtue of which the State will not be able to cover the risks defined as negotiable, that is, those that may be covered by private initiative.
- The law contemplates a term of seven years, extendable by another three, during which CESCE will act as Managing Agent. This seeks to ensure the stability of the system so that exporters, investors and financial entities can count on the support of CESCE. The selection of the Managing Agent, once this period has elapsed, must guarantee the suitability of the candidates. The one that ensures the maximization of the efficiency in the management of the State account will be selected, with the restrictions that the public control of the official support system for internationalization requires.
- In order to maintain control over the management of the State account, which is currently carried out through the CESCE Board of Directors, the Risk Commission for the State Account is created. It will be a collegiate inter-ministerial body chaired by the Secretary of State for Commerce, through which the Administration will instruct and control the Managing Agent.
- A Reserve Fund for the Risks of the internationalization of state ownership is created to facilitate the management of the resources available to the Managing Agent, without modifying the essence of the insurance budget regime on behalf of the State. Account management will, in principle, have the same budgetary impact, whether the manager is in private or public hands.
The law will enter into force three months after its publication in the Official State Gazette, which is the same period that is contemplated so that the necessary regulatory standards for its development and execution, particularly the Management Agreement, are approved by the Government.
