The default rate of Spanish banks has risen from the lows of 2008 although it remains below 3%

The delinquency of Spanish banks rebounds compared to the previous month and stands at 2.93% in August, slightly above the 2.92%, which has been its third consecutive month below 3%. However, the rate has remained at its lowest since the end of 2008 after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers which triggered a financial crisis. According to data published this Wednesday by the Bank of Spain (BdE), the volume of doubtful loans fell by 38 million, to 35,378 million.

In a year-on-year comparison, the decrease is more significant, falling by more than 5,000 million, to 35,278 million, in line with the credit portfolio, which went from 1.21 to 1.2 trillion. The favorable evolution of the labor market, which has exceeded 21.8 million employees and the reduction in interest rates by the Central Bank (ECB), which have remained at 2% since the July meeting, put downward pressure on the default rate.

The highest peak in the entire historical series was recorded in August 2014, when delinquencies exceeded 14.2%. Since then, the reduction has been gradual and after a brief ‘impasse’ at the beginning of 2024 in which it experienced an upward reversal, the trend has been disinflationary as the ECB began lowering interest rates.

The Bank of Spain differentiates between delinquency of banks, savings banks and credit unionswhich goes from 2.83% to 2.84%. In this case, the unpaid balance reaches 32,815 million, while that of the establishments financial credit rises four tenths to 5.65%. The increase occurs from the annual lows of the previous month.

It must be taken into account that the outstanding balance exceeded 703,622 million in August, 3.6% more compared to the same period of the previous year, largely due to the increase in consumer creditwhich has increased by 8.6%, which represents its largest increase since January 2009.

In mid-February, the European Commission denounced Spain before the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) for not transposing the directive on doubtful loans into Spanish legislation. The measure sought to encourage the development of a properly functioning secondary market for doubtful loans and to establish standards to authorize and supervise borrowers. buyers and credit managers. To achieve this, it is necessary to have harmonized criteria that allow administrators to market cross-border.

The Government has taken note of the slap on the wrist to bring the standard to the Congress of Deputies. In this regard, last March the Council of Ministers approved the draft law on credit administrators and buyers that will force entities to renegotiate the conditions of doubtful ones as a prior step to demanding their return in case of non-payment.