- The webinar focused on the ABANCA-ASTROC case, which was the first real estate stock market shock of the collapse of the real estate bubble in 2008
- The webinar was held in the framework of Global Money Week, an event organised by the OECD
26/03/2024, Brussels. Last Friday 22 March, the webinar “Youth Movement, second chance Directive against toxic banking products: ABANCA-ASTROC case study” took place in the framework of the Global Money Week, organized by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). This initiative, which celebrated its twelfth edition during the week of 18-24 March, is an annual global awareness-raising campaign on the importance of ensuring that young people are financially aware and gradually acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to make sound decisions about their finances.
With the aim of contributing to provide a better understanding of financial aspects, the webinar analysed the case of ABANCA-Inmobiliaria ASTROC to understand the legal aspects, tools and resources of the Second Chance Directive 2019/1023. This case is considered the beginning of the collapse of the real estate bubble in Spain, when in April 2007, the real estate company collapsed on the stock market and dragged down other securities in the sector. Precisely, the CEO of the Finnova Foundation and lawyer in the field of lobbying and advocacy Juanma Revuelta welcomed the 60 people attending the webinar, stressing the importance of this case for businessmen, entrepreneurs and young people. The Second Chance Directive is a tool that gives bona fide bankrupts the opportunity to get a fresh start.
The seminar was followed by the participation of the lawyer, economist, mediator and API Salvador Ibañez and the lawyer and Data Protector Officer-GDPO Compliance Paul-Alexandre Janssens, who detailed the scope and legal aspects of the Second Chance Directive 2019/1023 in Spain and Belgium, respectively. Ibáñez pointed out the incorrect and late transposition of this directive by Spain, although he wanted to highlight that it is having positive effects in a short period of time. Janssens, for his part, emphasised the transposition of the Directive in the Belgian legal system.
These interventions served to learn about the reality of this Directive at first hand in both countries and to be able to establish a true comparison between the two cases.
Then, Teresa Ibáñez, a lawyer specialising in insolvency and real estate law, mediator and API, took the floor to talk about the damage caused to people who have gone bankrupt when they find themselves in this situation. Ibáñez focused her speech onthe negative effects that people suffer when they are involved in the situations described above.
This was followed by interventions from the young team of the Finnova Foundation. Social worker, sociologist and political scientist Rocío Muñoz de Viguera spoke about the social impact of insolvency on bona fide bankrupts, stressing the importance of having a good support network. After this analysis, the assistant of the legal department and specialist in sustainable development and global co-governance Roger Bellido and Carla Vizcarro, also a member of the legal department of the foundation and specialised in cases of toxic banking products, detailed the importance for young people of knowing about these types of directives, which provide a safety net for new entrepreneurs.
To conclude the event, Juanma Revuelta took the floor to recap the key points of the webinar and reminded the audience of the need to disseminate and support initiatives that facilitate entrepreneurship, especially young entrepreneurship.
About the Finnova Foundation
Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organisations and partners in the member countries to communicate and disseminate European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programmes such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.