Spain is one of the largest euro-area banking markets, home to several global systemically important banking groups, with a growing payments and fintech sector in Madrid and Barcelona. Banks, payment and e-money institutions are licensed through the Banco de España (with the ECB for banks), while the CNMV handles investment firms and crypto-asset service providers.
Risk flagStandard
FATFNot listed
EU AML high-risk listNot listed
EU tax listNot listed
Licence regimes6
CurrencyEUR
S&P ratingA+
Next electiondue by 2027
Spain is not on the FATF grey or black lists (plenary of 19 June 2026); as an EU Member State it is outside the scope of the EU high-risk third-country list (Delegated Reg. 2016/1675, consolidated 29 January 2026) and the EU tax list (Annex I, updated 17 February 2026). Checked 7 October 2026.
Government and politics
Government
Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
King
Felipe VI · since June 2014
President of the Government (Prime Minister)
Pedro Sánchez (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE))
Governing parties
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Sumar
Last election
General (parliamentary), 23 July 2023
Next election
General (parliamentary), due by 2027. Sánchez has said the election will be held in 2027; legal deadline falls in summer 2027
Legislature
Cortes Generales: Congress of Deputies (350 seats) and Senate (265 seats, 208 directly elected)
Legal system
Civil law system with regional variations
Economy and finance
Population
49.4m (2025)
GDP
USD 1.9tn (2025)
GDP per person
USD 38,290 (2025)
Currency
Euro (EUR), euro
Central bank
Banco de España (part of the Eurosystem)
Credit rating
S&P A+ (stable) · Moody's A3 (stable) · Fitch A (stable) (as of March 2026)
The euro area's fourth-largest economy and one of its fastest growing, driven by tourism, services, car manufacturing and agriculture, with large internationally active banks such as Santander and BBVA.
Bank
Authorisation of a bank (entidad de crédito)
Minimum capitalUSD 20.1m
TimelineDecision within 6 months of receipt or of completion of the file and in any case within 12 months; silence means refusal (RD 84/2015 art. 3(2))
AuthorityECB on proposal of the Banco de España
EUR 18 million initial share capital, fully paid in cash and in registered shares (RD 84/2015 art. 4(b)), well above the EU floor of EUR 5 million
Law
Ley 10/2014 on credit institutions; Real Decreto 84/2015, arts. 3 (authorisation) and 4(b) (capital); Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 art. 14
Passporting
Yes: EU passport under CRD (Arts. 33 to 39) for branches and cross-border services
Key requirements
Cash deposit with the Banco de España (or pledged public debt) equal to 20% of the minimum share capital when applying
Fit and proper directors and suitable significant shareholders
Business plan, governance and internal control arrangements
Crypto-asset service provider (CASP) authorisation under MiCA
Minimum capitalUSD 56k
TimelineMiCA Art. 63: 25 working days to check completeness, then 40 working days to decide on a complete application (clock can be suspended for information requests)
AuthorityCNMV (the Banco de España supervises issuers of e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens)
MiCA Art. 67 and Annex IV: EUR 50,000 (class 1: order execution, placing, transfer services, reception and transmission, advice, portfolio management), EUR 125,000 (class 2: adds custody and administration, and exchange for funds or other crypto-assets), EUR 150,000 (class 3: adds operating a trading platform); or one quarter of prior-year fixed overheads if higher
Law
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), arts. 59 to 63; Ley 6/2023 designating the CNMV
Passporting
Yes: MiCA authorisation can be passported across the EU/EEA by notification (MiCA Art. 65)
Key requirements
Registered office in the Member State where at least part of the services are provided, place of effective management in the EU and at least one director resident in the EU (MiCA Art. 59(2))
Fit and proper management body and suitable qualifying shareholders
Safeguarding and segregation of client crypto-assets and funds, complaints handling, conflicts of interest policy
AML/CFT framework and compliance with the Transfer of Funds Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 travel rule
Investment firm authorisation (empresa de servicios de inversion)
Minimum capitalUSD 84k
TimelineDecision within 6 months of receipt or of completion of the file; silence may be treated as refusal (Ley 6/2023 art. 131(1))
AuthorityCNMV
IFD Art. 9: EUR 75,000 (reception and transmission, execution, portfolio management, advice, placing without firm commitment, with no client money or securities held); EUR 150,000 (other firms); EUR 750,000 (dealing on own account or underwriting on a firm commitment basis)
Law
Ley 6/2023 de los Mercados de Valores y de los Servicios de Inversión, arts. 131 and 134; Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 (IFR)
Passporting
Yes: MiFID II passport (Arts. 34 and 35) for services and branches
Key requirements
Corporate, financial, governance and internal organisation requirements set by regulation
Membership of the investment guarantee fund (fondo de garantía de inversiones)
General licence (licencia general) and singular licences for state-level online gaming
Minimum capitalNot published
TimelineNot published
AuthorityDGOJ (exercising the functions the law assigns to the Comisión Nacional del Juego)
Law
Ley 13/2011 de regulación del juego, arts. 10 (general licences), 11 (singular licences), 13 (operators) and 49 (fees)
Fees
Application fee of EUR 10,000 per licence; EUR 2,500 for entry in the General Register of Gaming Licences; annual regulatory fee of 0.75 per thousand of gross gaming revenue (Ley 13/2011 art. 49(5)); amounts can be changed by the annual Budget Law
Passporting
No: Spanish gaming licences are national
Key requirements
General licences only granted through a public call (convocatoria); a new call can be requested 18 months after the previous one for the same game type
Applicant must be a sociedad anonima with gaming as its sole corporate purpose, from Spain or the EEA, with at least one permanent representative in Spain
Technical, economic and financial solvency; no relevant criminal convictions, insolvency or serious sanctions
A singular licence is needed for each type of game under a general licence; general licences last 10 years, renewable for 10
Banco de España (BdE) · websiteBanks, E-money institutions, Payment service providers
Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) · websiteInvestment firms, Virtual asset service providers (VASPs)
European Central Bank (Single Supervisory Mechanism) (ECB) · websiteBanks
Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) · websiteOnline gaming
MiCA: Spain applied the full 18-month transitional period; the CNMV states that it ended on 1 July 2026. Spain's bank capital floor of EUR 18 million is much higher than the EU minimum. Investment firm initial capital is set by regulation (Real Decreto implementing Ley 6/2023); the figures shown are the EU IFD minima and the national regulation was not opened. Online gaming at state level is licensed by the DGOJ. Date of the most recent DGOJ general licence call was not verified.
UTC+01:00 (UTC+02:00 in summer); Canary Islands UTC+00:00
Main exports
cars
packaged medicine
refined petroleum
vehicle parts and accessories
garments
tourism
Main export partners
France
Germany
Portugal
Italy
United Kingdom
Sources for the country information(7)
Country information checked 9 October 2026. Licensing data updated 7 October 2026. Information only, not legal advice; requirements change. Regulatory notice.
