“We are quite optimistic with our growth forecast in Spain”
Trade Republic is experiencing a key year in Spain. Obtaining the license from the Bank of Spain (BdE) to operate as a bank branch It has served as a springboard to gain a foothold among neobanks after reaching one million clients. A figure that they boast about having achieved in record time. With the departure of Antón Díez, who has signed for N26, the group has appointed Pablo López Gil-Albarellos as the new ‘country manager’, who attends ‘La Información Económica’ after his appointment.
What do you expect from this new stage?
We are confident of maintaining the growth recorded so far in Spain. We are launching products at an astonishing speed. 2025 has been a key year after obtain a license to operate as a bank branch. We have incorporated Bizum, we offer investment funds, private capital… We have several launches pending between now and the end of the year.
Trade Republic celebrates four years in Spain, how do you summarize this period?
Throughout these four years we have facilitated access to products that until now were not accessible in Spain, such as the unlimited paid account or the possibility of invest in private markets from one euro through the alliance with EQT and Apollo. We were also one of the first banks to offer cryptocurrencies with the entry into force of the MiCA regulation. We do not offer a wallet to send or receive from other accounts, but we do provide custody service.
We are the neobank that has reached one million users the fastest. From Last January we experienced a 25% rebound in number of users and 50% in volume of assets. To put it in perspective, at the company level, we are present in 18 countries that channel a total of ten million clients and a total of 150 billion assets under management.
What are the growth expectations for the coming months?
The latest development has been children’s accounts, which arrive in Spain after their launch in Germany, where acceptance has been positive. Added to this is an alliance with Vanguard to offer ETFs whose fees management fees will be automatically reinvested until the user reaches the age of majority. In Spain we have detected that there is a great lack of financial education. In general, we are quite optimistic. The percentage of people who are aware of the need to save is increasing. We see it in our growth. In less than four years we have reached one million customers. This is an unprofitable segment for traditional banking, because they have limitations when it comes to charging commissions, which is why it had been a forgotten product. There is a relevant opportunity to grow market share.
“We are the neobank that has reached one million clients the fastest”
The entry into force of the Create and Grow Law at the end of 2022 reduced the minimum threshold to invest in private capital from 100,000 to 10,000 euros. How is it possible from 1 euro?
There are two aspects, the regulatory and the operational. We can offer private markets from 1 euro because we comply with the European ELTIF 2.0 regulation, which came into force last force and reduces the entry minimum from 100,000 to zero. This allows us to offer two funds registered in Luxembourg through an operation that is profitable for us from such low amounts. This type of investment, whose returns are usually higher, is largely unknown in Spain. It is advisable that its weight in the portfolio represents between 5 and 10% of the portfolio, so you had assets greater than one million euros or access to it was difficult. Now no matter how small the heritage is It is possible to invest from five or ten euros. Portfolio diversification is key.
Since arriving at Trade Republic in 2021, he has held various positions, the last as product manager. How has this experience helped you in your new responsibility as Country Manager?
Most of this time I have worked from London with a team of seven people from which we have launched the card in 18 countries, the bank account and all the configuration to develop the child account. Initially it was only available in Germany. All of this has helped me understand how better, more efficient products can be built, with better benefits for the client through a platform such as Trade Republic, which is very scalable at the operational level. This knowledge makes me understand the market better and know how to differentiate whether the competition is going to promote a product that will truly be useful or not.
“Throughout these four years we have facilitated access to products that until now were not accessible”
Trade Republic gives access to more than 2,000 investment funds. Do you plan to increase this figure?
Our intention is to broaden the horizon. There have been many clients who have has been asking for more funds and we have included them. We continue analyzing and speaking with managers who have contacted us to add their funds to the catalog. We are doing this analysis with each of them to see if they meet those requirements both at the level of commissions and quality that we have defined internally to include it.
