Is there a Bank Guarantee Register?

20/10/2022

Guarantees are used to ensure that obligations, generally of a loan, are met, with the issuer assuming the payment of a debt if the guaranteed party fails to do so. When the issuer is a bank, we talk about bank guarantees, and they tend to be common in certain commercial transactions, either because they are required, as may be the case when we are going to rent a house or premises, or because they are provided as collateral, such as when we put down a deposit for the construction of a home.

There is no guarantee register at the Banco de España, although bank customers frequently contact the Banco de España to request a copy of guarantees. It is true that their counter-guarantee may entail a risk that institutions must declare to the Banco de España's Central Credit Register (CIRBE), but in no case are copies received to be registered.

It is the credit institutions that must keep their own register; both a detail of their basic data and full copies of the documents in which the guarantees have been provided.

Citizens should be careful safekeeping this type of documentation, especially if it has been expressly agreed that the original document must be returned for cancellation purposes. In any case, the bank should inform, before signing a bank guarantee, about the requirements for its cancellation in the event of loss or destruction of the original.

If you request a copy of the bank guarantee, the issuing institution should provide it, and if it does not, you can complain to the institution's Customer Service Department. In the event that the request is not granted, claimants can address the Banco de España's Complaints Service.