Complaints drop 45 percent, BDE updates banking practice criteria

The Banco de España (BDE) recorded 30,970 complaints in 2025, a significant 45 percent decrease from the previous year.

This substantial reduction is primarily attributed to a sharp decline in cases related to mortgage expenses.

The BDE emphasizes its commitment to transparency and customer protection, presenting the report in a more graphic, clear, and comprehensible format, also accessible interactively.

The report highlights the BDE's crucial role in resolving complaints to safeguard customer interests and facilitate conduct supervision, thereby contributing to a balanced and transparent relationship between financial institutions and clients.

The average processing time for admitted complaints improved to 39 calendar days, eight days faster than in 2024.

This efficiency gain underscores the BDE's efforts to streamline its complaint resolution process.

The composition of complaints shifted notably in 2025, with eight out of ten cases related to cards, accounts/transfers/direct debits, and mortgages.

Mortgage-related complaints saw a strong decline, falling from 62 percent to 22 percent of the total, while cards surged from 15 percent to 31 percent, and accounts/transfers/direct debits increased from 15 percent to 29 percent.

Fraudulent payment operations emerged as the primary cause of complaints, accounting for 30 percent of the total and increasing by 18 percent from 2024.

The report identifies CaixaBank, BBVA, and Santander as the most complained-about groups, collectively receiving 52 percent of all complaints, generally correlating with their market size and presence.