Luís Laginha de Sousa appointed CMVM head

A former director at the Bank of Portugal has been appointed to head Portugal’s stock market regulator the CMVM.

Luís Laginha de Sousa takes the helm of the regulator at a time of particular turbulence on stock markets and cryptocurrency markets.
In his acceptance speech, the new president of the CMVM said he would continue the work of his predecessor without “ruptures” in a plan for 2022-2024 which has just been unveiled.
Luís Laginha da Sousa said he was taking over against a backdrop of limited resources, high interest rates, inflation and the war in Ukraine.
The rising inflation and increase in interest rates by the central banks were, he said, putting pressure on the stock markets and threatening a strong correction of financial assets.
The war in Ukraine with no end in sight, energy price instability, and the spectre of recession on the horizon are expected to be cold comfort for investors next year.
The Bank of Portugal, he said, recognised that the risks to financial stability had increased in recent months because of the current adverse climate.
At the event the Minister of Finances, Fernando Medina emphasised the role that regulators will have in protecting financial product consumers in these “troubled times”.
Luís Laginha de Sousa is aware of these challenges and said that two structural elements would make his task difficult: a lack of savings and the consequences that result for investment and, in particular, investment through the capital markets; the low financial literacy that characterises the Portuguese population “which is especially important when linked to growing financial digitalisation and the appearance of new ideas”.
Fernando Medina said that the capital markets are crucial in enhancing the allocation of financial resources. With the green agenda at the top of the list of priorities, the stock market has an important role to fulfil in this respect.
Laginha de Sousa also highlighted the challenges related to the ‘E’ for ‘Environment’ in ESG – Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance and the “need to face climate change and ensure the energy transition of the economy”.