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Geert Gielens

  • Lundi 17/5/2021
    Geert Gielens

    Belgium used to be known as a country with a high tendency to save. The banking sector managed to inject this savings mass into the real economy. There is hence no systematic savings surplus. However, since the beginning of the COVID crisis savings increased strongly and part of these savings must be placed overnight with the ECB. The COVID pandemic thus shows that supply and demand in our financial markets are not well aligned and that there are some missing links in our financial landscape. 

  • Mardi 5/2/2019
    Geert Gielens

    The budgetary situation of the local authorities in Flanders does not cause concern. Most municipalities recorded a surplus on their accounts at the end of last year and the municipal debt is also decreasing. A prudent spending policy axed at controlling the labour costs together with somewhat less investment spending are at the heart of this result. This being said, the future may be somewhat less rosy as rising pension costs and tax shift related lower municipal revenues are to be expected.