Research Areas

In July 2022, the three banking associations, Spanish Banking Association (AEB), CECA and the National Union of Credit Cooperatives (UNACC) commissioned the Ivie to develop a report on financial inclusion in Spain with detailed information by entities and municipalities, identifying the municipalities that have no physical access to banking services and the population residing in them. Thus, allowing to identify the percentage of municipalities and people without face-to-face access to banking services over the total.

A first report with data from 2021 was followed by a second annual report, with data up to December 2022, along with four quarterly reports. In this second case, the focus was on the 243 municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants that, as of December 2021, were considered “financially excluded” because they did not have any access point to financial services.

In order to continue monitoring the evolution of financial inclusion in Spain, the banking associations have commissioned the Ivie once again a new update of the Annual Financial Inclusion Report. The report provides an overview of in-person access to banking services in Spain as of 31 December 2023. In addition to analyzing access to the bank branch network, the report will also take into account other forms of access to banking services, such as ATM machines, mobile offices, financial agents or cashpoints in post offices. As in 2023, the financial inclusion diagnostic considers the ATM network of non-bank companies.

Additionally, an updated report has been prepared with data until June 30, 2024, focused on monitoring the progress of financial inclusion in municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants.