What do I need to open an account and mortgage with a Spanish bank?

The modern Spanish banking system is made up of commercial banks, various monetary funds and credit cooperatives accredited by the Banco de España. Prior to the previous financial and economic crisis, which began in the autumn of 2007, it also included savings banks. In 2011 they were abolished and transformed into banks, although they retained the word caja (“cashier’s bank”) in their name.

Renowned international agencies such as Moody’s provide ratings for Spanish banks, not only looking at the current state of affairs, but also making predictions for the future. The Brand Finance Banking TOP 500, which includes the top 500 banks in the world, is also worthy of trust. In addition to reliability, many other criteria are taken into account, among which transparency, liquidity, risk level play an important role. In 2021, Spain is represented by the following banks:

Banco Santander (17th)

BBVA (38)

CaixaBank (85)

Bankia (161) *Pending merger with CaixaBank

Sabadell (175)

Bankinter (220)

Kutxabank (288)

Abanca (331)

Ibercaja (424)

Recently, so-called online banks have become increasingly popular among Spanish residents and foreign owners of residential properties. These include N26, ING, BBVA and Openbank (part of Grupo Santander). Low or no commissions had forced clients to use their services, although as of May ING started charging 10 euros a month for account maintenance, in the absence of a steady monthly income of at least 600 euros. At the same time, there are still no fees for transfers to other Spanish banks.

Their obvious pluses include the ease of opening an account for residents, the notification of transactions, the customer-friendliness and the ability to make various transactions without red tape from anywhere in the country. The main disadvantages are the underdeveloped ATM network, the minimum number of physical offices (only in large cities) and the unavailability of a number of standard services such as insurance or credit cards.

Opening a Spanish bank account:

The process of opening an account with a Spanish bank can be daunting, especially without knowledge of the Spanish language, which is why we are always there to help our clients. The conditions for opening an account are now the same for both residents and non-residents.

First of all, you will need to go through a legality check on the receipt of funds. In order to do this you will need to provide documents confirming the origin of the money.

To open an account with a Spanish bank you will need the following list of documents:

Passport

Certificate of income for the last 2 years

Proof of employment in any form, indicating the salary

Bank statement showing bank account and balance

If company or shareholding, documents showing shareholding and annual dividends

If proceeds came from sale of real estate, deed of sale

We gather the package of documents, verify them and give them to a sworn translation. It is important that the usual translation of documents will not work for Spanish banks, only a sworn translation and we will take care of this matter. Once the documents have been submitted to the bank they will be checked by “Prevención del blanqueo de capitales” and in about a week you will have an operative account.

Getting a mortgage from a Spanish bank

We can help you obtain a mortgage in Spain with the best conditions as we have been working with the best banks for many years. The rates for residents are now lower. For non-residents they are slightly higher than 3% per annum.

Non-resident can expect to receive a loan from 50% to 70% of the value of the property for a period of 10 to 25 years, the borrower’s choice.

The following documents are required to apply for a mortgage:

Passport

2-3 years’ income statements or other income statements

Reference from work. Must be in a free-form on a company letterhead, indicating the period of employment, position and salary

Bank statement showing bank account and balance

Photocopies of overseas property ownership certificates.

Contracts proving other income (contracts of sale of real estate for the last 5 years, rental contracts, etc.).

If you are a shareholder, proof of receipt of dividends and proof of capital on headed paper

Statement from credit bureau

Memorandum of Intent to purchase/reserve real estate. Prepared on the spot if we can find a suitable property.

In all these cases from Grupo Terrasun we want to help you with your purchase and resolve all your doubts.