Santander, BBVA y Sabadell relanzan la banca personal para frenar a los neobancos

Santander, BBVA, and Sabadell are reviving personal banking to counter the growth of neobanks in Spain. Personal banking refers to clients with financial assets ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 euros, seeking more customized services than retail customers but not yet reaching the levels required for private wealth management. After several years focusing on private banking and high-value customer acquisition, the sector is bringing personal banking back into focus.

Major banks like Santander, BBVA, and Sabadell have adjusted their strategies in recent months, implementing changes in organizational structure or expanding service offerings as a defensive move against digital neobanks. Digital banks, such as Trade Republic, Revolut, and MyInvestor, are gaining ground on traditional entities, particularly among clients with higher saving and investment capabilities, attracted by a wider product range, competitive fees, and straightforward digital operations.

The competition from these digital banks is pushing major banks to enhance their personal advisory and personalized services, identifying this segment as one of the most vulnerable to the advancement of new digital competitors. Sabadell has recently reversed its strategy, separating its private banking services from personal banking.

After appointing Adela Martín as head of private banking this summer, the bank created a dedicated personal banking unit, led by Xavier Blanquet, who previously managed private banking. Sabadell is developing a new strategy to promote this segment as part of its plan to lead relationship banking in Spain, according to Marc Armengol, the bank's CEO.

BBVA has also revised its medium-value assets business, renaming it BBVA Premium, and reinforced its product catalog for clients in this segment by adding services previously reserved for private banking but tailored to the segment's needs, which require a less intensive level of attention. Santander has been more active in short-term reformulating its offer to attract and retain more personal banking customers.

The group has extended many premium non-financial services typically offered to private banking clients to its Select branch, which includes customers with assets starting at 100,000 euros or monthly balances above 3,000 euros. Santander's services include travel, credit cards, and secured loans in its range aimed at attracting or retaining these clients.

Other entities, like Deutsche Bank, are also following a similar path. Last year, the German bank launched Premium DB, a personal banking program to accelerate the acquisition of customers with annual incomes between 50,000 and 500,000 euros, offering products like deposit accounts, special-term deposits, loans, mortgages with improved rates, and VIP cards, estimating that in Spain, there are around 1.2 million personal banking customers.

Personal banking in Spanish banks is generally segmented based on clients' financial assets, with personal banking starting at 100,000 euros in assets, private banking for assets above 500,000 euros, and ultra-high net worth clients with assets above 20 million euros, who receive highly customized, sophisticated advisory and management services.