Banks and their customers navigate a changing landscape where trust is earned through service, openness, and fair handling of complaints. Against the backdrop of housing market shifts and a renewed emphasis on customer experience, financial institutions have become more vigilant about reputational risk. In the past year, consumer protection bodies reported a jump in complaints about banks, with notable growth in issues related to service quality and dispute resolution. The Bank of Spain, acting as a supervisor, logged tens of thousands of complaints and noted significant year over year increases. While many affected individuals seek settlements outside formal courts, data show a growing willingness to challenge institutions when disputes arise. Recently, the overall value of compensation recovered for victims has risen, indicating a stronger emphasis on redress, though the figure may still underestimate true losses because some cases are settled without formal compensation records.
After a slowdown, tensions between banks and customers intensified again in 2020 and continued to rise through 2021 and 2022. By July 31, supervisory staff anticipated a year-end total near a new all-time high. The trend suggests that almost forty thousand complaints could mark the peak, echoing the high seen in 2017. Banks, regulators, and consumers alike have noted the need for clearer remedies and faster, more effective responses to complaints.
Banks have begun to acknowledge both the practical and reputational costs of failing to address grievances. The past year saw substantial recovery payments to customers, totaling several hundred million euros, with a noticeable rise from the prior year. The figure does not include settlements reached outside formal proceedings, which means the true level of redress could be higher. While the average amount recovered per case has fluctuated, the overall trend shows a growing emphasis on restitution when fault is found, even as some settlements involve smaller individual sums.
More fixes
There is a broad push to improve the reliability of customer statements and to strengthen the balance between consumer rights and bank obligations. The Bank of Spain has historically argued that banks are not automatically obliged to concede every claim, a stance that has fueled discussions about new oversight mechanisms and consumer protection authorities. In recent years the supervisor has processed thousands of requests and found a substantial portion justified, signaling that many customer concerns are legitimate. Over time, the share of cases resolved in favor of customers has risen, reflecting tighter scrutiny and accountability across the sector.
Yet there remains a noticeable divergence in outcomes between different institutions. Independent analyses show some banks have higher rates of favorable outcomes for claimants and correspondingly higher correction rates, while others display the opposite pattern. This variation underlines the importance of transparent processes, consistent standards, and robust complaint-handling practices across the industry.
Several factors lie behind the rise in complaints. Mortgage-related issues remain a dominant subject, driven by terms, costs, and products tied to home purchases. Other frequent dispute sources include credit cards, often tied to fraud controls and the non-delivery of essential documents, as well as current accounts and deposit maintenance fees. The sector has also seen consolidation through mergers, which can influence customer experience and the handling of complaints, especially for customers transitioning from absorbed institutions.