The Banco de España is to act as an observer in the Protocol signed by the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office and the Banking Associations to provide support for people with disabilities

26/09/2023

The Banco de España is to act as an observer, together with the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office and banking associations (AEB, CECA, UNACC), on the protocol to provide support for people with disabilities in their dealings with banks.

On 19 July, the associations and the Public Prosecutor's Office signed a protocol at the headquarters of the Banco de España with the objective of sharing the best banking practices to facilitate the exercise of legal capacity of people with disabilities, which are regulated by Law 8/2021.

The agreement creates a working group, which had already been meeting for a year at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, looking for a consensus on the channels through which banks are to maintain the bank-customer relationship to contribute to the financial inclusion of people with disabilities. The objective is to adapt how they work to the new provisions of the Law, which amends the Civil Code with regard to disability, such as the abolition of incapacitation and the introduction of a new system for providing support to people who need it, including the role of the facto guardian.

This figure, which is expected to be used more regularly in the future, is neither a judicial nor a voluntary measure, but rather a means of informal support, mainly through the family environment of the person with disabilities, without the need for an appointment to carry out day-to-day operations.

The protocol also envisages that the meetings of the working group will be held at least twice a year and that the parties will disseminate the resulting work and documents. All this documentation will be available to the general public on the website of the Public Prosecutor's Office, in the 'FGE Collaboration Agreements’ section.Abre en ventana nueva