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- Carla Díaz, General Director of the Treasury and Financial Policy, shares the progress made to promote a European savings and investment account
- Ángel Benito, General Director of Markets at the CNMV, highlights BME Easy Access and the flexibility of the Listing Act as steps forward to promote IPOs in Spain
- The other panels of the day have focused on the role of Fixed Income markets, especially MARF, and on the analysis of the listed real estate sector
- Tomorrow concludes the XXI edition of the reference event for small and medium-sized companies, after more than 1,000 meetings between companies and investors
A week after the presentation of BME Easy Access, the new IPO modality, the second day of the Medcap Forum has focused on the importance of promoting the arrival of new listed companies to the capital markets, as well as the return of the retail investor to the stock market. The first panel of the day, moderated by Roger Freixes, partner at Cuatrecasas, featured the participation of Ángel Benito, general director of markets at CNMV; Carla Díaz, general director of the Treasury and Financial Policy at the Ministry of Economy, and Javier Esteve, managing director ECM at Morgan Stanley.
Carla Díaz, Director General of the Treasury and Financial Policy, has explained that households in Spain have savings, but they are mostly channeled towards real estate assets or deposits, so it is necessary to promote retail savings through a savings account. In her speech, she explained that Spain has promoted the European Competitiveness Laboratory to accelerate progress in the EU, together with Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, and that in this forum they are focused on promoting the European savings and investment account, which aims to channel savings towards European strategic priorities. It would be an account with long-term investment and beneficial tax treatment, which will have a common brand in the countries that are promoting it.
On the other hand, she mentioned that the ministerial order to allow collective investment institutions to lend securities, one of the measures proposed in the White Paper on boosting the competitiveness of capital markets in Spain, is in a very advanced stage. The Director General of the Treasury and Financial Policy also stated that in Spain companies have tended to rely heavily on bank financing because the country has a very solid banking sector, but it is important to complement it with alternative sources of financing such as capital markets.
For his part, Ángel Benito, General Director of Markets at the CNMV, has stated that 50% of the companies that wanted to go public in Spain in the last five years ended up giving up. He also detailed the measures taken to encourage the incorporation of new listed companies. Among them, he highlighted BME Easy Access, a new way of going public that allows companies to start trading without carrying out any placement, with a period of 18 months to choose the most appropriate time to reach the minimum required free float.
He also highlighted as an example of flexibility in companies' access to capital markets the process of admission to trading of Fixed Income issues in AIAF which, since 2023, grants BME the competence of verifying the admission to trading of the issues, instead of the CNMV as was previously the case. He also noted that in the Spanish market it is now possible to settle IPO operations in D+1 and that loyalty shares can also favour IPOs of companies whose shareholders do not want to lose control of the company.
Regarding the Listing Act, Benito stated that there are entities that are still not aware of the facilities it contains, as it makes the issuance of entities admitted to trading more flexible, incorporates more simplified prospectuses, and reduces the required free float for going public from 25% to 10%.
For his part, Javier Esteve, managing director ECM at Morgan Stanley, has celebrated that Spain is pioneering the launch of a new modality of going public with BME Easy Access, because having flexibility to enter the market will help. In his opinion, the reduction of the free float requirement to go public included in the Listing Act is very important to boost IPOs. He added that it is important to act swiftly, because the market changes quickly. He also stated that Spain has the best market for capital increases of listed companies in all of Europe.
The second day of the Medcap Forum, which brings together 107 companies and 150 national and international investors, also included two other panels: one dedicated to Fixed Income markets and another focused on the real estate sector. During the round table "Fixed Income Market: Reflections from Issuers and Institutional Investors," the speakers from Cuatrecasas, Allianz GI, Amper, Gestamp, and ICO agreed on highlighting the strategic value of fixed income as a means of corporate financing, as well as the need for companies to always be prepared to take advantage of issuance windows. Several of them also emphasized the operational simplicity of MARF and its key role in financing, prestige, and the relationship of companies with financial entities.
Regarding the panel dedicated to the real estate sector, the speakers agreed on the need for greater legal security and stable regulation to boost investment and respond to the growing demand for housing. Alfonso Brunet, CEO of Castellana Properties, emphasized that "the more the rules change, the more insecurity is generated among investors," which diverts capital to other markets. Alister Moreno, CEO of Clikalia, highlighted that although renting is currently more accessible, "the need for home ownership is still very present" and called for predictability in public policies to generate more confidence among the involved parties. For his part, Juan Carlos Calvo, Director of Strategy and IR at Metrovacesa, warned about the scarcity of developable land and advocated for "simpler, more agile, and accurate" regulation to meet the growing demand, favored by a stable macroeconomic environment and favorable interest rates.
Tomorrow will be the third and final session of the event. In addition to private meetings between companies and investors, the program includes three new panels that will discuss the impact of climate change on listed companies (at 10 am), investors' opinions on the opportunities offered by small and medium-sized listed companies (at 1 pm), and growth strategies and value generation in BME Growth (at 4 pm).
You can find all the information about the event at this website and the photos about the event here.
Journalist registration for the Medcap Forum should be done through this link.
