The era of maximum ease for mortgages has not ended completely, but it is losing steam. Banks are detecting that the demand for credit to buy homes is deflating. The growth rate of new production is decelerating and, surely, it will continue to do so, taking into account the prices that housing has reached and the increased cost of its financing.

BBVA continues to break profit records in an environment favorable to the banking sector. During the first nine months of the year, the Basque-originated entity reached a profit of 9.066 billion euros, 13.6% more than in the same period last year. The group presided over by Carlos Torres attributes the figures to the good performance of its recurring income, divided between the net interest margin—the difference between income and financial costs—and banking fees. In this sense, the gross margin until September—the indicator that reflects an entity's total turnover—reached 32.072 billion euros, 16.3% more in year-on-year terms.

Banc Sabadell recorded a net profit of 1.376 billion euros by September, 1% less than during the same period of the previous year. The entity continued to feel the effect of the sale of its British subsidiary, TSB, to Banco Santander, which still had a net contribution of 79 million euros during the first four months of 2026, when it was still under its ownership, 63.7% less than a year earlier. In any case, being a smaller bank, it obtained a result similar to a year ago, when the British subsidiary contributed 18% of the profit.

During the third quarter of this year, banks tightened access conditions for consumer loans, which are those intended to finance the purchase of a car, household appliances, travel, or renovations. According to the bank lending survey conducted by the Bank of Spain, these restrictions are linked to the increase in interest rates, which the European Central Bank (ECB) raised from 2.25% to 2.50% in September; however, they have not yet affected mortgages. The institutions, some of which decided to reduce the pace of granting loans for home purchases, anticipate that conditions will continue to tighten until the end of the year.

The Spanish economy remains at the forefront of advanced countries in growth, with a forecast of 2.6% this year according to the Bank of Spain and 2.5% according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But inflation, they also warn, eats away at the purchasing power of wages that are not enough to buy or rent a house. The remuneration of employees has gained weight in the Spanish economy, but it is starting to lose it in favor of the profits of some business sectors. Workers perceive that with every euro they buy fewer and fewer things, or that they need more to acquire the same. There is a palpable reality, the rise in prices, which has stalled the contribution of wages to the total wealth this year, and a psychological element, according to the experts consulted, which makes many ask themselves: "Now that the economy is doing well, when is it my turn?"

Artificial intelligence (AI) affects the entire value chain of banking, and the impact is "brutal". This was stated by the director of the Department of Experimentation and Laboratory of Applied Technologies (Delta) of the Bank of Spain, which is headquartered in Barcelona. During a breakfast organized by the executive organization CEDE at the headquarters of Foment del Treball, he assured that all financial institutions are incorporating this technology, from personnel management and more basic activities to business processes, ranging from credit to risk and monetary policy. The main entities, such as BBVA, CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell, have reinforced this commitment in recent times.

Banc Sabadell, with the new stage under Marc Armengol as CEO and with the BBVA takeover bid in memory, is pressing the accelerator. The French BPCE, which groups entities such as Banque Populaire and Natixis and is the second-largest banking entity in France, has entered the capital of the Valles-based bank with around a 7% stake, valued at approximately 1.2 billion euros.

BBVA will distribute a dividend of 37 cents per share to its shareholders, the highest in its history. According to the entity, the operation will be effective on October 15 and will involve a total payout of 2 billion euros. This increase, 16% more than the interim remuneration of the previous year, will be charged against the 2026 results, a fiscal year that, for now, is breaking all records. During the first half of the year, BBVA achieved a net profit of 6.051 billion euros, 10% more than in the same period last year.

The twelve-month daily Euribor, the reference for variable-rate mortgages, closed August at an average of 2.952%, close to the 3% level it reached on some days of the month that is ending and which had not been seen since September 2024. On the last session of August, the one-year daily Euribor reached 3.003%. As a consequence of this trend, those whose mortgage loan review is this month will see their monthly installment increase by an average of 80.32 euros, up to 936.76, and about 963 euros annually.

Singular Bank, the financial entity specialized in private banking, has incorporated the Dutch bank ING and the Mexican investment group Actinver as shareholders, in addition to the manager ProA Capital and numerous family offices. With these incorporations, the bank managed by Javier Marín begins a new phase of growth and expansion. The new shareholders have purchased all the shares that until now were owned by Warburg Pincus. Once the sale of shares and the capital increase have been completed, the Dutch bank ING will become the main shareholder, with a 40% stake. The rest of the capital is distributed as follows: the bank's management team and employees, 15.5% (and they will collectively become the second largest shareholder); ProA Capital, 15%; the Mexican financial entity Actinver, 8%, and the different family offices will add up to 21.5%.

The banking sector, which is undergoing a transformation due to digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), experienced a period of office closures and staff reductions starting from the financial crisis of 2008. From the 45,000 branches, with a ratio of 99.02 per 100,000 inhabitants, that existed in Spain that year, it has gone down to around 17,000 currently, with a ratio of 35.03, a 65% drop, despite population growth. And in Catalonia, the process has been similar, going from over 8,000 physical branches in 2008 and a proportion of 110.64 per 100,000 inhabitants, to 25.66, with a total of 2,085 branches, an even greater decrease, of more than 76%. From the 45,000 branches, with a ratio of 99.02 per 100,000 inhabitants, that existed in Spain that year, it has gone down to around 17,000 currently, with a ratio of 35.03, a 65% drop, despite population growth. And in Catalonia, the process has been similar, going from over 8,000 physical branches in 2008 and a proportion of 110.64 per 100,000 inhabitants, to 25.66, with a total of 2,085 branches, an even greater decrease, of more than 76%.

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) is investigating whether a group of brokers has agreed to fix mortgage prices and commercial conditions and, consequently, has infringed free competition in the market. Competition suspects that the alleged fraudulent practices took place within the framework of "an association of companies dedicated to mortgage intermediation", but does not specify which one.

After three consecutive increases (March, April, and May), the daily one-year Euribor in June, the main reference for variable interest rate mortgages, has moderated and experienced a slight decrease compared to the previous month. The indicator closed the month at 2.728%, and therefore, an average in June of 2.798%, below the 2.8% of the previous month. In any case, the amount paid by mortgagors will continue to rise, with an increase of 66.40 euros per month and 796.8 euros per year on average, as it is compared to the 2.081% that existed a year ago.

The president of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Carlos San Basilio, has argued that the Spanish stock market should grow in listed companies and diversification. "We should have an Ibex-50, with companies with high capitalization and liquidity, and that could be a market as diversified as possible," he stated during his intervention at the summer course of the UIMP and APIE held this week in Santander.

The chairman of BBVA, Carlos Torres, has defended the Spanish mortgage market less than a week after the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) opened disciplinary proceedings against the six large Ibex-35 banks – including BBVA – for mortgage interest rates.

Until the return of the headquarters of Banc Sabadell last year, Caixa Guissona was the second Catalan financial entity, surpassed only by Caixa Enginyers. Today it is the third, with a classic banking model, which keeps and lends money and with little weight of services and, therefore, of commissions. With a network of five offices, results that grew by 23% last year, to 19.3 million euros; the cooperative of the BonÀrea Agrupa group has its sights set on Girona, the only province where they are not present, explains the general director, Martí Bravo (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1992), who works at the entity, where he started as an office employee, 11 years ago.

The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has decided to open disciplinary proceedings against six large banks for alleged anti-competitive practices. These are the six entities listed on the Ibex: Bankinter, Banco Santander, BBVA, Unicaja, CaixaBank, and Banc Sabadell. The body chaired by Cani Fernández, whose six-year non-renewable term ends this Tuesday, is investigating whether these entities engaged in anti-competitive practices related to mortgage policy and, more specifically, the so-called mortgage war, contrary to Article 1 of the competition defense law and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The North American investment multinational Blackstone has limited the withdrawal of money from investors in its main private credit fund following a surge in investment liquidations. This is another case of massive money withdrawals from an investment vehicle dedicated to private credit, a branch of the financial industry that has been showing problems in recent months in the United States, where it operates as a shadow banking sector. shadow banking.

The tsunami that caused the 2008 financial crisis made hundreds of bank branches disappear and left many Catalan municipalities without these services. As a consequence of this process, in 2021 there were 502 Catalan towns with no access to banking services, 53% of the total, with a population of over 305,000 inhabitants, 3.94% of the total. At the end of 2024 – the latest available data – there were 38 municipalities, 4% of the total, with a population of 11,381 people, 0.14% of the total. The number of municipalities with no such services has been reduced by 92% in this period.

Bad times are coming for holders of variable-rate mortgages. The daily 12-month Euribor, the main reference for this type of loan for home purchases, has closed the month with an average above 2.8% (2.804%) and is heading towards 3%, according to analysts. Thus, the monthly payment for an average mortgage of 174,132 euros with Euribor plus one point, which was 833.11 euros, will rise to 900.39 euros, an increase of 67.28 euros more or 807.36 euros more per year.