Spain will reactivate financial client authority law in September, overriding bank opposition

Government announces September reactivation

Economy minister Carlos Cuerpo confirmed on Friday that the government will push in September for the parliamentary process to restart on the law creating the Independent Authority for the Defence of the Financial Client. The announcement came after a meeting of the working group against financial exclusion, attended by banking representatives, consumer associations, pensioner groups, the Ombudsman, the deputy governor of the Bank of Spain and the head of Correos.

We are going to push in September for the Government's Delegate Committee for Economic Affairs to resume the steps to formalise the Law for the creation of the Financial Client Authority.

The minister stressed the authority responds to “a citizens’ right” and received “a very clear message” from consumer associations.

What the new authority would do

The draft law envisages a single, free window for consumers to lodge complaints against banks, insurers and investment firms without having to go to court. The authority would be required to resolve claims within a maximum of 90 days and would issue binding decisions for disputes below 20,000 euros.

The new Financial Client Authority will transform the protection model by creating a single free window to manage banking, insurance and investment complaints.

The body’s remit would for the first time extend to non‑supervised sectors such as fintech companies, lenders and crypto‑assets. It will be financed by the banks in proportion to the number of claims they attract. An earlier provision for a 250‑euro fee per complaint, which banks argued would encourage reporting, was removed.

Banks reiterate their opposition

During the meeting the banking industry repeated its objections. Alejandra Kindelán, president of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), stated that current mechanisms – via the Bank of Spain, the CNMV and the Directorate‑General of Insurance – already work well and that the new body runs counter to calls for regulatory simplification and reduced bureaucracy at EU level.

In Spain we already have mechanisms for resolving claims.

Consumer and pensioner representatives urged political groups to support the creation of the authority.

Legislative stop‑and‑start

The bill was approved by the Council of Ministers in March 2024 and entered Congress in April 2024 under the urgent procedure. On 21 November 2024, the full Congress rejected a total amendment tabled by the Partido Popular, with 178 votes against, 170 in favour and one abstention. Since then the initiative has remained stuck, still awaiting a report from the Economy, Trade and Digital Transformation Committee.

A previous version of the law had passed Congress three years earlier with the PP abstaining, but it lapsed when general elections were called before the Senate could approve it.

Wider tensions with the sector

The revival of the authority reignites one of several conflicts between the government and the banking industry. The largest flashpoint remains the extraordinary windfall tax imposed after the war in Iran, which banks are challenging in court. Cuerpo’s announcement, made in the presence of bank executives, signals that the government will press ahead regardless of the sector’s objections.