Banking in Spain

This chapter aims to explore recent developments in the Spanish banking industry and the measures adopted in recent years to correct the imbalances that built up during the expansion, in order to give an up-to-date picture of the sector in the international context. To this end, the chapter is divided into four sections. The section following the Introduction examines the importance of the banking sector in the Spanish economy using various indicators of banking penetration. The next section, “Characteristics of the Spanish Banking Sector: Recent Trends”, looks at key features of the banking sector and its evolution in terms of a range of measures, including margins, profitability, efficien…