Institutions that can take deposits from the public: monetary financial institutions

As only credit institutions are allowed to take deposits, it is worth knowing which institutions you can open an account or make a deposit with.

Only certain licensed credit institutions (in short, banks, savings banks and credit unions) are authorised to receive funds from the public, i.e. receive money from customers with the commitment to repay it under the agreed conditions. By contrast, although lending money is one of financial institutions’ most common activities, no authorisation is needed since it is considered unregulated.

The dual activity of taking repayable funds from the public, even if not in the form of deposits (for instance by issuing securities), and using these deposits to make loans, is an activity reserved to specialised lending institutions and credit institutions.. 

If you have any doubts about the services an institution is offering, you can check the Banco de España´s Register of Credit Institutions (in Spanish) Abre en ventana nueva (Registros Oficiales de Entidades de Crédito del Banco de España)

Bear in mind that the Banco de España cannot provide information about the financial situation of the institutions it supervises, as it is subject to confidentiality obligations.

The European Central Bank also publishes a List of Monetary Financial Institutions (MFIs)Abre en ventana nueva which include typical credit institutions (i.e. banks, savings bank, credit unions, and similar institutions elsewhere in Europe), other non-banking credit institutions, such as specialised lending institutions, the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), and similar European institutions, and Money Market Funds (MMFs or FIAMMs in Spanish).

Select a country to check which institutions are authorised to do business there. They will be listed in alphabetical order, with their identification code, name, institution category ("credit institution" or "Money market fund"), address and parent company.

Did you find this information useful?

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS