CECA-ICADE Chair in Banking Regulation
Spain’s First Chair in Banking Regulation
The Chair was established with the aim of promoting cutting-edge academic research into the economic impact of banking regulation and contributing rigorous evidence to the public debate.
Find out about the Chair
Its mission is to promote academic research into the economic impact of banking regulation and to help ensure that its effects are better understood and assessed.
Since the global financial crisis, the banking sector has undergone a profound transformation of its regulatory framework. The development of new prudential requirements, the introduction of macroprudential instruments, progress in the Banking Union and, more recently, the challenges associated with the competitiveness of the European financial sector, digitalisation and the emergence of new forms of money and means of payment have shaped an increasingly broad and complex regulatory environment.
In this context, it is essential to understand not only the design of banking regulation, but also its economic effects. Regulatory decisions can influence banks’ capital and risk management, the supply of credit, the profitability and competitiveness of the financial sector and, through these channels, the financing of households and businesses and the economy as a whole.
The CECA-ICADE Chair in Banking Regulation was established as a forum for research, analysis and debate on these issues. The Chair aims to bridge the gap between rigorous academic research and the key challenges facing the financial sector and regulatory and supervisory authorities, fostering the exchange of knowledge between the university, institutions and professionals.
Through its research, publications, seminars, conferences and specialist meetings, the Chair aims to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of banking regulation and to provide rigorous evidence that may prove useful both for academic debate and for the design and evaluation of regulatory policies.
Objectives
- To produce high-quality academic research on the economic effects of banking regulation and to contribute to the development of the academic literature in this field.
- To analyse the impact of regulation on financial institutions, examining its effects on capital, risk and credit decisions, as well as on the profitability, efficiency and competitiveness of the banking sector.
- To study the implications of regulation for the real economy, paying particular attention to its effects on the financing of households and businesses and on economic activity.
- To analyse the main current and future challenges facing banking regulation, providing evidence to assess its effects and contribute to informed regulatory design.
- To foster dialogue between academia, the financial sector, regulators and supervisors, creating forums in which to discuss the main challenges of banking regulation from different perspectives.
- To promote the transfer and dissemination of knowledge through publications, seminars, conferences, specialist meetings and other activities organised by the Chair.
- To strengthen the link between the university and the financial sector, bringing students closer to the professional reality of the sector and encouraging their participation in training activities and collaboration opportunities linked to the Chair.
Key points
1
An economic analysis of banking regulation
2
Financing the real economy
3
Competitiveness of the financial sector
4
Dialogue between academia, regulators and the industry
Events
Date: September 4, 2026
Comillas Pontifical University and CECA signed an agreement to establish Spain’s first Chair in Banking Regulation, aimed at promoting research and discussion on the regulatory challenges facing the banking sector.
Related news:
Date: October 7, 2026
The CECA-ICADE Chair in Banking Regulation held its official inauguration with an event bringing together representatives from the financial sector, institutions, and academia to discuss banking regulation, competitiveness, and the transformation of payment systems.
Related news and materials:
Upcoming Seminars
Nov 26, 2026, 4:00–5:00 p.m CET (online)
Manuel Muñoz (BBVA) will present his joint paper with Frank Smets (ECB), “The Positive Neutral Countercyclical Capital Buffer.” The paper explores the benefits of gradually building releasable bank capital buffers during normal times, highlighting their role in strengthening financial resilience, stabilizing lending, and improving economic welfare.
Discussant: Mikel Bedayo (Bank of Spain).
For questions or to be added to the seminar mailing list, please contact catedraceca@comillas.edu.
Past Seminars
Oct 29, 2026, 4pm CET (online) – Research Presentation.
Gonzalo Fernández Dionis (International Monetary Fund) presented Chapter 3 of the IMF’s October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report, “Scaling Tokenization: New Efficiencies, New Vulnerabilities,” and his preliminary findings from his ongoing paper, “Tokenized Securities”.
The seminar recording is available at this link.
Areas of research
The Chair’s research activity is structured around two main areas: banking capital and payments. Both address, from an economic perspective, how regulation shapes the decisions of financial institutions, their competitiveness and their relationship with the real economy. The two strands share a common approach: to rigorously assess the economic impact of regulation and to contribute to academic and economic policy debate through research, empirical evidence and dialogue with regulators, supervisors and professionals in the financial sector.
Bank capital and prudential regulation
This section analyses how capital requirements and the prudential framework affect the behaviour of financial institutions and their ability to finance the economy.
It includes an examination of capital requirements, prudential buffers, risk-weighted assets, leverage, micro- and macro-prudential regulation, and their effects on credit, risk, profitability, efficiency and competitiveness in the banking sector.
Payments and the transformation of the financial system
This research area examines the evolution of payment systems and methods and their economic, regulatory and competitive implications for financial institutions and the financial system as a whole.
It covers issues relating to the digitalisation of payments, the digital euro, stablecoins, tokenisation, new payment models, financial innovation and the impact of these changes on banking intermediation, competition and customer relations.
Executive Team
The Chair is co-directed by José María Abad, a lecturer in the Department of Economics at Comillas ICADE, and Teresa Herrero, Director of Studies at CECA. Its academic work is supported by a research team, a network of Research Fellows and an Advisory Board comprising professionals of recognised standing.
Research Team
Research Fellows
Advisory Board
CECA and Comillas Pontifical University
The Chair stems from a collaboration agreement between CECA and Comillas Pontifical University, aimed at strengthening the link between academic research, banking regulation and the professional realities of the financial sector.
