Banking good practices in the face of a mistake
15/07/2025
We're all wrong. And yes, also the banks: the financial activity is not free from errors. The important thing is not so much that they happen – because they can happen – but how they respond to them. That is the true measure of good banking practice.
In the financial world, where trust is essential, mistakes should not be cause for alarm if managed responsibly. Institutions have an obligation to act diligently, both to avoid failures and to correct them, when they occur. And that diligence is not just an expectation: It's a demand.
A one-off error does not automatically make an entity negligent. What really matters is his attitude: Do you recognize it?, does it correct it without delay?, does it prevent it from happening again? If the answer is yes, there is no reason to talk about malpractice. But if the error is ignored, not corrected or repeated, then we are facing a serious problem.
Besides, it's not just about correcting. Institutions should also adequately inform affected customers, respecting their rights and providing a clear and transparent solution.
Let's look at some concrete examples where this criterion applies:
- Errors in public deeds: if a failure is detected, the entity must act swiftly to correct it, including by requesting rectification from the notary. If the latter rejects it, there is only the agreement between the parties or go to court.
- Errors in accounting notes: the customer also has an important role. If you detect an error in your account, you must report it within a reasonable time for it to be corrected.
- Errors in payment transactions: the payment services regulations provide that the customer must notify the error within a maximum period of 13 months from the charge, provided that he has received the corresponding information about the transaction.
In short, errors exist, but they do not have to break the trust between client and entity. What really matters is the answer: recognize, correct and learn.
“Disclaimer: Please note that this is a translation of the original in Spanish that has been obtained using eTranslation (the machine translation tool provided by the European Commission), with the intention of giving you a basic idea of the content in English until a human translation becomes available. The Banco de España accepts no liability whatsoever in connection with this translation.”
