MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s antitrust watchdog said on Wednesday it did not see the relatively low number of banks in the country as being a leading factor behind the lower returns on deposits compared to other euro zone countries.
The report came after BBVA launched a hostile takeover bid for smaller lender Sabadell, which is now undergoing a longer in-depth review.
The Spanish government had tasked the CNMC watchdog with looking into whether there was an element of lack of competition in the banking sector that prevented lenders from paying higher interest rates on retail deposits.
The average return on household deposits in the euro zone in June 2024 was more than double that in Spain.
The CNMC said that concentration indices in Spain were at moderate levels, although considerably higher than those recorded in comparable large economies within the euro zone.
Caixabank, BBVA and Santander had a wide-ranging presence across the territory, but others, such as some rural savings banks, had very significant market shares in certain geographical areas, it said.
Rather, the CNMC pointed to the costs associated with changing banks, the comparability of information offered to customers, the scarcity of alternative products and the need to deepen financial education initiatives as the main reasons for the lower returns.
It recommended that lenders promote access to a broad range of deposits and other substitute financial products, mitigate customer information problems, offer greater transparency and reduce the costs of moving between institutions to address the issue.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
