The Banco de España is preparing for the future with its new Strategic Plan

The Governing Council of the Banco de España just approved the Strategic Plan 2030, the second in the Bank’s history. In so doing, we are strengthening our commitment to strategic planning, an ingrained practice in our peer central banks. What are the Plan’s objectives? How did we draft it and what role did Banco de España staff play? How are we going to roll it out? How will we know when objectives are met? Let's dive in.

Our primary objective is to equip the Bank with the tools it needs to be able to continue delivering on its mandate: ensuring price stability and the soundness of the financial system. In this way, we seek to protect the general public’s purchasing power and savings and contribute to Spanish society’s sustainable growth and well-being.

The Plan will serve as a catalyst for transformation: it will enable us to adapt internally to tackle complex tasks more efficiently and will enhance the Banco de España’s transparency for the public.

The transformation is essential to address the challenges posed by an ever-shifting environment. It is necessary to adapt to the rapid evolution of technology, work in a more agile, multidisciplinary and cross-cutting manner and attract and retain the finest talent. We will employ technology, talent and cultural transformation intensively and intelligently.

This will enable us to continue being a leading central bank in a complex environment, maintaining rigour, integrity, the pursuit of evidence-based objectivity and the exercise of independent judgement.

The Strategic Plan 2030 is structured around four objectives, summarised in Figure 1:

1^st Cultural and organisational transformation to promote agile and collaborative ways of working that help strengthen ties across different areas.

2^nd Technological transformation that allows us to get the most from data and information, position ourselves in the technological vanguard and explore new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

3^rd Better utilisation of talent by encouraging training and mobility and promoting career development plans.

4^th Transparency, aiming to reach out to the general public, promote financial education, share our artistic heritage and be accountable for the performance of our duties.

The Plan’s four objectives are: cultural and organisational transformation, technology, talent and transparency

Figure 1
OBJECTIVES OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2030

SOURCE: Banco de España.

This plan is ultimately focused on people, both those who are part of the Banco de España and the wider public. We aim to provide the Bank’s staff with the best tools to perform their work in an environment that enables them to develop their talent to the full. Additionally, we are committed to enhancing our engagement with the public through open communication and active listening, strengthening collaboration with those around us and being transparent in reporting our activities.

How was the Strategic Plan 2030 designed?

The timeline of the process to draw up the Plan is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2
MAIN MILESTONES IN DRAWING UP THE STRATEGIC PLAN

SOURCE: Banco de España.

Given the Plan’s focus on people, they were our first port of call. Following approval by the Governing Council of the strategic framework in December 2024, in which the Banco de España’s mission, values, vision and objectives were defined, the Bank’s staff have worked on identifying those initiatives and specific action plans that will help us achieve the Plan’s objectives. Brainstorming sessions were organised with this in mind. Staff from across the Bank participated in the sessions to explore the most effective drivers for improving how it functions.

These contributions from the Bank’s grass roots were then followed up in the specific meetings with management teams, such as department directors and branch office directors, and meetings with senior management.

Cross-cutting working groups were created that met for several weeks to develop each of the 14 initiatives making up the Plan’s four objectives. Their enthusiastic and committed engagement with the Plan yielded results in an unusually short turnaround time for a strategic planning process.

Figure 3
THE FOUR OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN COMPRISE FOURTEEN INITIATIVES

SOURCE: Banco de España

The Plan is people-focused and more than 400 members of staff from across the Bank volunteered to help prepare it

The Strategic Plan comprises an ambitious agenda of measures to be implemented up to 2030. Some milestones are far off on the horizon, while others will heave into view this very year. The Plan will be monitored regularly while it is being rolled out to adapt it to changes in the environment and tailor the necessary resources via quarterly strategic planning. This process got under way with the first preparatory meetings held in April. We will use various key performance indicators (KPIs) to help us measure the achievement of results and assess whether we are heading in the right direction and succeeding in our aims.

We are aware that executing the Plan is a sizeable task, but also of the need to attain its objectives so that the Banco de España continues to fulfil its mission and does so guided by the values that inspire our work serving society as a whole.

Julia Suárez

• Director
• Strategy and People