List of Banks in Spain
The Spanish banking sector includes ten banking groups, 48 private banks, over 60 cooperative and savings banks as well as subsidiaries and branches of foreign financial institutions. The four main Spanish banks are Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and Sabadell. The Bank of Spain (Banco de España), established in 1782, is the national central bank and member of ESCB. Below is a list of the major and most popular Spanish banks.
Top 10 Banks in Spain
Following are the largest banks in Spain ranked by total assets.
| Rank | Name | Total assets, US$B | Balance Sheet |
| 1 | Santander | 1,983.3 | 12/31/2023 |
| 2 | BBVA | 855.94 | 12/31/2023 |
| 3 | CaixaBank | 670.09 | 12/31/2023 |
| 4 | Sabadell | 259.55 | 12/31/2023 |
| 5 | Bankinter | 124.73 | 12/31/2023 |
| 6 | Unicaja Banco | 107.21 | 12/31/2023 |
| 7 | Abanca | 82.58 | 12/31/2023 |
| 8 | KutxaBank | 70.78 | 06/30/2023 |
| 9 | Grupo Cajamar | 66.39 | 12/31/2023 |
| 10 | Ibercaja Banco | 60.51 | 06/30/2023 |
Banco Santander
Banco Santander, headquartered in Madrid, is the largest bank in Spain by assets and market capitalization. It is one of the leading international banks with a network of over 8,500 branches worldwide including 1,870 branches in Spain. The company's top 10 primary markets are Spain, Brazil, UK, Mexico, USA, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, Poland and Germany. It also has a significant presence in Puerto Rico and Uruguay, and activities in China. Santander is the safest bank in Spain according to Global Finance.
BBVA
BBVA Group (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.) is a global financial services group with more than 71 million active customers and 5,950 branches including 1,880 branches in Spain. It is the second largest bank in Spain by assets and market capitalization. The company operates through the following business segments: Retail Banking, Corporate & Business Banking (CBB), Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), BBVA Seguros and Asset Management.
CaixaBank
CaixaBank SA (formerly Criteria CaixaCorp), headquartered in Valencia, is the leading retail bank in Spain with about 20 million customers. It has the largest domestic branch network consisting of 4,200 offices and 12,000 ATMs across the country. It is also one of the major banks in Portugal with nearly 2 million BPI customers. Caixa is the best bank in Spain according to Euromoney and Global Finance. The company was founded in 2011 and today employs approximately 46,000 people. In 2021, CaixaBank merged with Bankia.
Banco de Sabadell
Banco de Sabadell S.A. is the fourth largest Spanish bank by assets. Established in 1881, Sabadell Group today employs around 20,000 people and serves more than 12 million customers through a network of about 1,600 branches including 1,289 domestic offices and 290 branches in the UK. The company has a registered office in Alicante and corporate headquarters in Barcelona.
Bankinter
Bankinter S.A., headquartered in Madrid, is one of the most profitable and healthy financial institutions in Spain. It is the country’s fifth largest bank with €108 billion in total assets and €75 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2022. The company was established in 1965 and today employs approximately 6,170 people in 450 branches across Spain. Bankinter is rated Baa1 and BBB+ by Moody's and Standard & Poor’s, respectively. Bankinter shares are traded on the Madrid and Barcelona stock exchanges, with a market capitalization of $5.6 billion as of January 30, 2024.
Caja Rural Group
Grupo Caja Rural is one of the leading banking groups in Spain. It is a cooperative financial group with more than 2,300 branches, 9,230 employees and 1.5 million members. It includes 30 cooperative banks across the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands.
Abanca
Abanca Corporacion Bancaria SA, headquartered in Betanzos, an autonomous community of Galicia, is the country’s seventh largest bank by assets. It operates through over 650 local branches as well as branches and representative offices in Portugal, Switzerland, the US, France, Germany, the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, Panama and Mexico. Abanca recently acquired Bankoa SA, a retail bank in the wealthy Basque Country (Euskadia).
Unicaja Banco
Unicaja Banco SA, based in Malaga, is one of the major banks in Spain with a leading position in Andalusia and Castilla y León. It offers checking and savings accounts, pension plans and investment funds, insurance products, consumer and mortgage loans, debit and credit cards, brokerage services, agricultural financing, and mobile and online banking services.
KutxaBank
KutxaBank, S.A. is a Spanish bank located in the Basque Autonomous Community. It offers current accounts, deposit products, credit and debit cards, personal and car loans, mortgages, commercial and SME lending, life and auto insurance, retirement solutions, online banking, and other services. It was formed in 2012 through the merger of Basque financial institutions: Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa (BBK), Gipuzkoa Donostia Kutxa (Kutxa) and Caja Vital Kutxa.
Ibercaja Banco
Ibercaja Banco S.A., headquartered in Zaragoza, serves over 2.5 million clients. The Bank’s home markets are Aragón, an autonomous community La Rioja, municipality Guadalajara as well as Burgos and Badajoz. The company’s growth markets are Catalonia, Valencian Community and Madrid. Ibercaja has a long-term credit rating of Baa3 from Moody’s and BBB- from Fitch.
See also: Largest Banks in Spain
Popular online banks in Spain
Imagin is a Spanish neobank and a digital platform promoted by CaixaBank.
Revolut is an app-based bank with more than 30 million customers. It offers joint and savings accounts, multi-currency accounts, debit cards, currency exchange, stock trading, cryptocurrency products and other services.
N26 is a digital bank offering personal and business accounts, student accounts, insurance, Mastercard debit card, instant payments and money transfers, installment loans and more.
Last updated October 15, 2024