16.5 million sanction to Banc Sabadell for linking the joint sale of mortgages and insurance
The Bank of Spain resolves that the Catalan bank engaged in a commercial practice in 2022 and 2023 prohibited by the real estate credit law
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BarcelonaThe Bank of Spain has imposed a fine of 16.5 million euros on Banco Sabadell for the joint sale of mortgages with insurance policies. This practice, which is prohibited, was detected between January 2022 and March 2023, as specified in the sanction published this Wednesday by the banking supervisor.
The entity directed by José Luis Escrivá considers the infringement committed by the Catalan bank to be very serious, as it carried out tied selling practices. This commercial operation is prohibited by Law 5/2019, which regulates real estate credit contracts. Furthermore, according to the resolution, it fails to comply with the duty to "act impartially while respecting the interests of its clients".
The Bank of Spain notes that these breaches are particularly relevant "due to the number of affected operations and the reiteration of the conduct by the entity". The reason for the sanction is the joint sale of mortgages with insurance policies during the reported period, in which there was a high number of affected operations and these mortgage sales practices were repeated.
The amount of the sanction, which is final in administrative terms but not in judicial terms as it is being appealed, has been calculated taking into account the estimated profit that Sabadell obtained with this operation, but also the remediation measures it adopted with certain clients.
The real estate credit law strictly regulates the marketing of insurance in the granting of mortgages. The objective of the regulation is to protect the user from abusive practices by financial entities.
The regulation defines that practices such as the joint contracting of other products with the mortgage without the option to separate them are, as a general rule, prohibited. On the other hand, combined sales –when the loan is offered separately but a bonus is applied, such as the reduction of interest rates if the insurance is contracted– are permitted.
There are some insurance policies that the bank can require when taking out a mortgage, such as damage, home, payment protection, or life insurance, but the user has the right to choose the company they wish, without the financial entity being able to impose one on them.
