3Markets

3.2 Lending Market

The Spanish lending or banking market is structured around banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives, which channel most savings and use their funds to provide financing for the private sector. In this way, credit institutions take funds from savers and assume the obligation to return them, acting for their own account and at their own risk when it comes to granting loans and other types of financing to the end consumers of financial resources.

Credit institutions also operate as investors and subscribers in the stock market, and adjust their liquidity by means of interbank and money market transactions.

The deregulation of capital movements in the EU has also made it easier for Spanish companies to obtain financing abroad.

The idea of granting enhanced protection to the integrity of financial systems led to the adoption of Law 10/2010³³, of April 28, 2010, on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The purpose of this Law is to regulate the obligations and procedures to prevent the financial system and other economic systems being used for money laundering. This Law includes certain new provisions relating to: (i) the persons subject to the Law (increasing the number of persons covered, establishing common rules for all types of individuals); (ii) reporting obligations (notification in case of signs of illicit activity, record-keeping obligation increased from 6 to 10 years); (iii) internal control of the fulfillment of obligations (external expert examination for all non-individual subjects, greater employee training obligations); and (iv) introduction of the concept of beneficial owner and the need to identify such owner.