Business · Companies · 13 hrs ago
Several Spanish banks lose share in the mortgage market
CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Bankinter lost mortgage-market share in Spain over the past year.
Bankinter’s share fell from 3.9% to 3.2%, CaixaBank’s from 26.7% to 26.0%, and Sabadell’s by half a percentage point to 5.7%.
Other lenders gained ground, including Santander and rural savings banks, while BBVA’s share stayed the same.
Banks have made mortgages more expensive and adopted a more selective approach after a period of fierce competition to win customers.
Spain’s competition authority is investigating six major banks over whether they shared future commercial plans in ways that harmed competition.
The inquiry is ongoing and could last up to two years.
Mortgage lending is showing signs of slowing, as rising home prices and limited housing supply make it harder for the market to keep growing.
Bankinter, CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell lost share of Spain’s mortgage market over the past year, according to data from consultancy Inmark.
Bankinter’s share fell from 3.9% to 3.2%, CaixaBank’s from 26.7% to 26.0%, and Banco Sabadell’s by five-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7%.
Banco Santander and rural savings banks gained share, while BBVA’s share was unchanged.
The figures are based on 12,000 interviews conducted in May and June.
Spain’s competition authority opened an investigation into six major banks on June 16 over possible anti-competitive practices involving disclosure of future commercial strategies.
- Who
- Bankinter, CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell lost mortgage-market share; other Spanish lenders had mixed results.
- What
- Their shares of the mortgage market fell over the past year, according to Inmark.
- When
- The data are based on interviews conducted in May and June; the article was published on November 9, 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The article links the changes to banks’ more selective lending and higher mortgage prices, but does not establish a definitive cause.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Bankinter said it would distance itself from what it called irrational competition in the mortgage market.
Inmark conducted 12,000 interviews used to compile the market-share data.
Spain’s competition authority opened an investigation into six major banks over possible anti-competitive practices.
Spanish banks provided €6.392 billion in housing finance, down from €6.435 billion in August.
20minutos published the report on banks’ mortgage-market shares.
- Bankinter
- Mortgage share fell from 3.9% to 3.2%
- CaixaBank
- Mortgage share fell from 26.7% to 26.0%
- Banco Sabadell
- Mortgage share fell by 0.5 percentage points to 5.7%
- Banco Santander
- Mortgage share rose from 13.8% to 14.6%
- Rural savings banks
- Mortgage-market penetration rose from 8.4% to 10.0%
- Market research
- 12,000 interviews conducted in May and June
What people are saying
There is plenty of financing; what is missing is housing
It is more profitable to invest in ten-year Spanish Treasury bonds than to grant a mortgage