Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank y Sabadell convierten el crédito en su motor
Las entidades se han preparado para aprovechar los ciclos alcistas de la economía y reducen su dependencia de los tipos de interés gracias a una fuerte actividad comercial. Leer
Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and Sabadell have made credit the driving force behind their businesses, reducing their reliance on interest rates and leveraging commercial activity for growth. After years of operating under zero-interest rates, these banks have found success in a rising rate environment, thanks to efficient operations and specialization in managing their results and capital sensitivity to interest rates.
The strong performance of the Spanish economy and population growth have contributed to this shift, as well as the banks' ability to adapt and minimize the impact of rate cuts on their profitability. In the first half of 2026, banks' loan portfolios have not yet fully recovered from the cuts in 2024 and 2025, but the effect of recent interest rate hikes is still being felt.
Santander has increased its retail and commercial credit volumes by 9% and 22% respectively, while BBVA's credit to customers grew by 17.7% in constant exchange rates. CaixaBank's overall business volume has doubled, with a 7.8% growth in the first half of the year, and Sabadell has shown a solid recovery in commercial activity, thanks to a new management team focused on generating results.
Written by urgent.news from Expansion ES's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
