When the Administration window is that of your bank
16/09/2025
We usually go to our bank to hire: We look for a loan, we open an account ... But sometimes, financial institutions act as windows of a public administration, whether state, regional, provincial or local. Banks, through agreements, provide support for the realization of public services such as the collection of taxes and fees, the collection of fines, the processing and payment of subsidies and social security benefits, embargo procedures or the management of accounts of courts and tribunals. They are one more window of the administration.
In these cases of collaboration, the actions of the entities are governed by the administrative procedure in question, not by the rules on transparency and protection of bank customers applicable to financial products or services. In other words, when we go to the bank to carry out management of the Administration, we do it as citizens who relate to our city council, for example, not as customers.
The list of collaborating entities can vary according to the organization, the territory and the type of management, and even change over time. Therefore, it is always advisable to consult the electronic headquarters or the website of the public body to confirm which ones provide exactly the procedure you want to carry out, in which offices and under what conditions (documentation required, need for an appointment, schedules and any operational instructions).
As a practical guideline, before going, check that the procedure is offered in the specific office, and always keep the proof or receipt of the service performed.
In short, if you have any incident related to a financial institution in its capacity as a collaborator, you must communicate it to the competent body of that administration so that it can manage it and seek its solution.
In future posts we will offer you more details about specific services provided by the entities in this window function of the different public bodies.
“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.”
