Banks in Spain

Abanca Corporación Bancaria – A savings bank focused on the regions of Galicia, Asturias and Leon. It was established as a result of merger of NCG Banco and Banco Etcheverría in 2014.

Bankia was a Spanish banking group formed from a group of savings banks. It had over seven million customers and approximately 1,850 branches throughout Spain. Bankia merged into CaixaBank and the Bankia brand was withdrawn; its business now forms part of CaixaBank.

Bancaja was the largest financial institution in the Autonomous Community of Valencia and one of the largest savings banks in Spain.

Banco Cooperativo Español (Spanish Cooperative Bank) was established in July 1990. The share capital of the Bank is held by 41 Spanish credit cooperatives and a German credit institution (DZ Bank AG).

Banco de Valencia (BVA) – A Spanish banking institution founded in 1900. It operated a network of over 400 branches located in Valencia, Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Zaragoza, Tarragona, Castellon, Navarra, Murcia etc. In 2013, Banco de Valencia merged with CaixaBank.

Banco Etcheverria, founded in 1717, is the oldest bank in the Span. It was integrated into ABANCA Corporación Bancaria.

Banco Santander – The largest bank in Spain and one of the largest banks in the world by assets. It acquired Banco Popular Español in 2017 and is supervised directly by the European Central Bank as a significant institution.

BFA Tenedora de Acciones was the state-controlled parent company of Bankia SA. It ceased to hold that role when Bankia merged into CaixaBank in 2021.

Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN) – A Spanish financial institution providing retail banking services.

Bank of Spain (Banco de España) – The central bank of Spain, established in 1782 by Charles III. It belongs to the European System of Central Banks. While the introduction of the single currency and the setting up of the Eurosystem have led to a redefinition of some of Banco de España’s functions, the institution continues to perform the tasks assigned to it under the Law of Autonomy as the National Central Bank.

Banco Pastor, founded in 1776, was one of the oldest banks in Spain. It offered deposit products, consumer and commercial loans, credit cards, insurance, private banking, internet banking and other services. Banco Pastor became part of the Banco Popular Español group, which was placed in resolution and sold to Banco Santander in June 2017. The Pastor brand is no longer in use.

Banesto (Banco Espanol de Credito) was a Spanish bank owned by the Santander Group.

Banco Popular Español was one of the largest commercial banking groups in Spain. It served consumer and business customers through branches in Spain, Portugal and the USA, and representative offices in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and elsewhere in Europe. It was placed in resolution and sold to Banco Santander in June 2017, and the brand has since been withdrawn.

Banco Sabadell – One of the largest banking groups in Spain, supervised directly by the European Central Bank as a significant institution. Its former United Kingdom subsidiary TSB has joined Santander.

Banca Civica was established in 2010 through the merger of Caja Navarra, Caja Canarias, Caja de Burgos and Cajasol. In August 2012, Banca Civica became a member of CaixaBank.

Bankinter, S.A. – A Spanish commercial bank established in 1965 through a joint venture by Banco Santander and Bank of America.

Bankpime was a private savings and loan institution in Catalonia. It was acquired by CaixaBank.

BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) – A multinational Spanish financial group with a presence in more than 30 countries. It operates in Europe, Latin America, United States, China and Turkey.

Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa (BBK) merged with other Basque savings banks (Kutxa and Caja Vital) to form Kutxabank S.A.

Caja España-Duero was a Spanish savings bank created in 2010 through the merger of Caja Espana and Caja Duero.

Caja Madrid – Established in 1702, it is the oldest Spanish savings bank. In 2011, it merged with other savings banks to form Bankia.

Caixa Balears "SA NOSTRA" was the leading savings bank of the Balearic Islands.

CaixaBank – One of the largest banks in Spain, with 20.9 million customers. It merged with Bankia and is supervised directly by the European Central Bank as a significant institution.

Caixa Catalunya was the fifth largest savings bank in Spain and the second largest banking institution in Catalonia. It merged with Caixa Tarragona and Caixa Manresa to form a new entity under the name CatalunyaCaixa.

Caja Vital Kutxa was the leading financial institution in the province of Alava (Spain). It was established in 1850 and is headquartered in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Caja Vital merged with Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa (BBK) and Gipuzkoa Donostia Kutxa (Kutxa).

Catalunya Banc, S.A. – The financial entity created in October 2011, after taking over the banking business of its predecessor CatalunyaCaixa. In July 2014, BBVA purchased bailed-out lender Catalunya Banc from Spain’s government.

CatalunyaCaixa was created in July 2010 as a result of the merger of Catalan savings banks. In 2011, it transferred its banking business to Catalunya Banc, S.A.

Caixa Galicia – A Spanish savings bank based in A Coruña. On December 1, 2010, Caixa Galicia merged with Caixanova to form NovaCaixaGalicia.

Caja Mediterraneo (CAM) was savings bank with over 3.3 million customers and more than 1,100 branches across Spain. It also had operations in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere in Europe.

Grupo Caja Rural – One of the largest banking groups in Spain with more than 2,700 offices and 9,160 employees. The Group represents 80% all banks in Spain's cooperative sector.

Ibercaja Banco – One of the 10 largest Spanish banking groups. It operates through over 1,270 branches nationwide and employs approximately 5,600 people.

Kutxa (Gipuzkoa Donostia Kutxa) merged with other Basque savings banks to form Kutxabank S.A.

Kutxabank S.A. was formed on January 1, 2012, through the merger of three Basque savings banks, namely BBK (Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa), Kutxa (Gipuzkoa Donostia Kutxa), and Caja Vital.

La Caixa was one of the largest savings banks in Spain. In 2011, it transferred its financial business to CaixaBank.

Liberbank S.A. was a Spanish bank formed from the savings banks of Asturias, Extremadura, Cantabria and Castile-La Mancha, and a leader in the retail markets of those regions. It operated the Cajastur (Caja de Ahorros de Asturias), Caja de Extremadura, Caja Cantabria and CCM brands. It was absorbed by Unicaja Banco and the Liberbank name is no longer in use.

NovaCaixaGalicia was one the largest savings banks in Spain with more than 1,000 offices and about 8,000 employees. In 2011, Novacaixagalicia contributed all of its banking assets and liabilities to NCG Banco SA.

Unicaja Banco – A Spanish bank headquartered in Málaga, Andalusia. It absorbed Liberbank, and is supervised directly by the European Central Bank as a significant institution.

Unnim – A Spanish savings bank, the result of the 2010 merger of three small savings banks (Caixa Manlleu, Caixa Sabadell and Caixa Terrassa). In March 2012, Unnim was acquired by BBVA.

The Largest Banks in Spain (historical series to June 2017)

Total assets, EUR billion. The series below ends on 30 June 2017 and is retained as an archive. It still lists Banco Popular Español, which was placed in resolution and sold to Banco Santander in June 2017, and Bankia, which has since merged into CaixaBank; the Unicaja Banco figures predate the absorption of Liberbank, which materially enlarged the bank.

(1) - In March 2014, Unicaja Bank acquired Banco CEISS.
(2) - Abanca Corporacion Bancaria was formerly known as NCG Banco, S.A.
* Banco Popular Espanol, S.A. was placed in resolution and acquired by Banco Santander in June 2017.
Bankia, S.A. has since merged into CaixaBank and no longer exists as a separate bank. Liberbank was absorbed by Unicaja Banco, so the Unicaja Banco figures above are stated on a pre-merger basis.