Annual report
STUDIES AND PUBLICATIONS
With the aim of compiling and publishing socio-economic information which is of interest and value to the public, the Federation of Basque-Navarre Savings Banks publishes various studies and editorial series. Three periodic analyses and study series are currently produced: the Consumer Finance Report, the Ekonomi Gerizan monographic series and the Carbon Market Bulletin.
The aim of the Consumer Finance Report is to ascertain the perceptions, intentions and expectations of Basque consumers regarding a series of economic, financial and social variables. This report is compiled each quarter by surveying 1,600 consumers over the age of 18 residing in the ACBC. On the basis of these surveys, the ACBC Consumer Confidence Index and a series of additional indexes are compiled and these reveal how Basque consumer perceive different aspects of the general economy and their home economics. Since a large part of the survey's contents are homogenous with similar confidence indexes compiled by European institutions on a national and European level, it is possible to reliably compare and contrast the evolution of consumer confidence in these different areas.
The name Ekonomi Gerizan covers a series of monographic studies which are published annually, offering an in-depth and detailed analysis of socio-economic, newsworthy matters. The topics for each edition are selected based on their topicality and medium/long-term relevance for Basque society and the economy. Each monographic edition forms the basis for a Seminar which is presented at the University of the Basque Country Summer School which is held each year in San Sebastian.
Climate change and sustainable economic development constitute two complementary sides of a very complex question with momentous consequences for humanity and planet earth. The aim of the Carbon Market Bulletin, which is now published twice yearly, is to provide current, relevant information about the policies, actions and markets relating to climate change with special emphasis on the greenhouse-gas-trading market.
These publications are freely available on the website of the Federation of Basque-Navarre Savings Banks (www.fcavn.es) to ensure that the information they contain reaches as many people and is as useful as possible.
Monographic Study and Summer University Seminar
The latest international economic growth cycle, and the economic and financial crisis with which it ended, highlighted and generated a series of social and economic imbalances affecting every country and the entire international community in a widespread way.
The countries (mainly European and developed) which implement welfare state institutions and mechanisms have suffered the effects of this economic growth cycle and the ensuing crisis. These effects have in turn impacted on welfare state institutions and mechanisms as a result of the increase in the number of those claiming benefits, the appearance of new needs which must be addressed, and the financing difficulties arising from economic deceleration and the greater borrowing of countries as they attempt to contain and alleviate the consequences of the economic and financial crisis.
Major questions have therefore been raised about the Welfare State: Is the praxis of the Welfare State still pragmatically feasible? Can it be reformed or adapted to the new circumstances? Or can it continue to develop in a way which is safe and problem-free for institutions and citizens?
On 8th, 9th and 10 September 2010, within the framework of the University of the Basque Country Summer School held at Palacio Miramar in San Sebastian, the Seminar "The Welfare State at the crossroads: new challenges posed by the global crisis" was organised by the Federation of Basque-Navarre Savings Banks and this was attended by a panel of important figures from the academic and financial world with Joaquín Almunia, the Vice-President and Commissioner responsible for Competition, and Carlos Aguirre, Chancellor of the Exchequer taking part in the Closing Ceremony.
By way of continuation of this Seminar, the 18th edition of the Ekonomi Gerizan series explored different aspects and perspectives of the Welfare State crisis, in an attempt to assess its current situation and anticipate its sustainability and possible lines of development in the foreseeable future.
Financial Situation of the Consumer Report (CEC)
The decisions made by families in terms of saving, consumption, investment and borrowing are of unquestionable importance since they have an extremely significant effect on the evolution of a country's economy. This importance justifies the interest both on an academic and on a corporate and institutional level in attempting to anticipate the implications and scope of such decisions. This forecast is performed by analysing the perceptions and expectations of families and individuals regarding the general economic situation and their home economics by means of the information gathered and provided by the consumer confidence and financial situation indexes
The Consumer Confidence Index for the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country has been compiled by the Federation of Basque-Navarre Savings Banks since 1984 with a similar methodology to that used by European institutions to produce similar indexes throughout Spain and Europe. This index and other supplementary subjective and macroeconomically statistical indexes form the basis for the production of the ACBC Consumer Finance Report. This group of indicators reveals the perceptions of Basque consumers and enables a comparison with those of consumers in other similar socio-economic regions.
The report is compiled by surveying 1,600 people over the ages of 18 residing in the ACBC each quarter. The level of statistical confidence of the results obtained is 95.5% with an error margin of +/– 2.2%. Each stage of the survey also serves to provide information about specific subjects such as saving, social welfare and household borrowing.
Carbon Market Bulletin
The Basque-Navarre Savings Banks' social welfare work has always been a clear demonstration of their social corporate responsibility, and for many years now this has specifically focused on a variety of environmental issues. The Carbon Market Bulletin has been classified within this context since it was first published in 2005.
Energy from fossil-fuel extraction (first coal and then oil and gas) has for a long time been the main energy source used in developed and developing countries to revitalize their productive systems and provide services and improve the quality of life for their inhabitants. In recent decades, there has been a progressively awareness of the negative repercussions of the waste products of these energy sources both in terms of the environment and sustainability. This has exposed the need for new environmentally-friendly energy sources and consequently for an international economic growth model which respects both the environment and natural resources in the short and long term.
The current energy model consists of a series of processes which causes emissions of different substances, including CO2, with many harmful effects for the planet's atmosphere and consequently for the environment and for humans.
For this reason, while new sources of "clean" energies are being developed and established, governments and corporations have undertaken the task of managing and mitigating these harmful effects. Correspondingly, a series of different instruments have therefore been implemented and one of the most important of these is the regulation of CO2 emissions as a good which can be commercially and financially traded.
Every six months, the Carbon Market Bulletin provides information about the emission trading market both in terms of volumes brokered and prices, and its foreseeable evolution. It also includes important information about corporate, institutional and supranational activity relating to active environmental conservation.
