Who is really behind your mortgage?
27/11/2025
Signing a mortgage loan to purchase a home is, for most of us, one the most important financial decisions of our lives. And every year, thousands of people face for the first time the challenge of choosing a mortgage.
Loans secured by real property, commonly known as mortgages, are very important financial transactions. In Spain, they can be offered only by individuals and firms that are duly authorised or registered in the corresponding public registers. We explain this in this post.
Who can offer a mortgage loan?
Before you start looking for a mortgage, there’s something you need to know. In Spain, mortgage loans can only be granted by:
- Credit institutions, like banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives.
- Branches in Spain of foreign credit institutions.
- Specialised lending institutions, which focus on financing in specific fields, such as leasing, consumer credit and mortgage loans.
- Real estate lenders. These are duly registered firms or professionals that lend money directly for the purchase of a home or other residential property.
Other firms or professionals that can help you find financing to purchase a home or other residential property include real estate credit intermediaries. They do not lend money directly, but rather search for and negotiate the best credit with lenders (which are the ones that actually give you the money).
Remember:
- Credit institutions, specialised lending institutions and branches in Spain of foreign credit institutions are registered in the Register of Institutions of the Banco de EspañaAbre en ventana nueva.
- Real estate credit intermediaries and lenders must be registered in the Banco de España’s register of credit intermediariesAbre en ventana nueva and real estate lenders (if they operate across Spain or in more than one autonomous region) or in the public register of an autonomous region (if they only operate there).
Why are real estate credit intermediary services and real estate lending reserved activities?
Because they involve significant financial and legal risks both for the individuals who obtain the loans (borrowers) and for the financial system. This is why the Law establishes that only those that meet certain legal requirements and are duly registered can carry out these activities.
Due to the importance of these transactions, the Law also sets rules to ensure that real estate credit agreements are clear and transparent. And it regulates how lenders (which give you the money) and intermediaries (which help you get it) should act, including the obligation to verify before the loan is granted that the customer is creditworthy. In addition, a system has been set up to oversee and penalise those who do not comply with these rules.
What can happen if you arrange a loan through an unregistered intermediary or real estate lender?
Arranging a mortgage loan with an unregistered person may seriously harm your financial health, leading you to a high level of indebtedness, violating your rights or causing you to incur unwarranted costs. In the case of intermediation, trusting an unregistered person to search for a mortgage could mean that you end up paying a high price for conditions you have been promised but that don’t materialise or that you receive poor advice and end up arranging a mortgage loan whose conditions are unfavourable or not aligned with your needs.
Furthermore, if you sign a mortgage with a person not registered with the Banco de España, you won't be protected by the transparency rules that apply to real estate lending or be able to file a complaint with the Banco de España’s Complaints Service should you have a dispute with them.
Therefore, before you arrange any service linked to real estate lending, make sure that the person offering the service is duly registered with the corresponding public register. And if you suspect that you are dealing with an unauthorised person, please report this via our external whistleblowing channel Abre en ventana nueva(link in Spanish).
