Interest rate reporting obligation
Institutions have the freedom to decide on their interest rates, but they are also obliged to report to the Banco de España on certain data relating to interest rates, as a result of the obligations arising from Circular 5/2012 (on the transparency of banking services and responsible lending) and Circular 1/2010 (on statistics on interest rates applied to euro-denominated deposits and loans vis-à-vis households and non-financial corporations resident in the euro area).
Interest rates of Circular 1/2010
Circular 1/2010Abre en ventana nueva is the result of the transposition into Spanish law of the ECB Regulation concerning statistics on interest rates applied by monetary financial institutions to their customers. The main objective of these statistics is to provide relevant information for the analysis of monetary developments in the euro area Member States (Eurosystem). Also, information about interest rate developments is needed for the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) to contribute to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to prudential supervision and the stability of the financial system. Therefore, all its definitions and preparation rules are shaped by these purposes.
Thus, monthly information is available on the interest rates applied by Monetary Financial Institutions (Credit Institutions and Specialised Lending Institutions) to households and non-financial corporations resident in the euro area (not only Spain) with regard to credit and deposit transactions denominated in euros. Also, a distinction is made between two large blocks: one for new business in the period and the other for outstanding amounts (the definitions of "new business" and "outstanding amount" are also given in the above-mentioned Circular). The bulk of the information is reported in terms of the Narrowly Defined Effective Rate (NDER), i.e. the interest rate component of the APR excluding costs and fees. These data are published in the Statistical Bulletin.
If you are interested in consulting the information, you can find it in the following link to Tables 19.3 to 19.17Abre en ventana nueva of the Banco de España's Statistical Bulletin.
Interest rates of Circular 5/2012
Circular 5/2012Abre en ventana nueva establishes that Spanish credit institutions and branches in Spain of foreign credit institutions must publish and submit to the Banco de España certain statistical information on interest rates and fees.
These are the data most commonly applied to the banking services most frequently provided to their individual customers, in accordance with the format established in Annex 1 of the above-mentioned Circular and on the transactions carried out in each calendar quarter. The interest rate information is available in APR terms.
As mentioned in the Circular itself, the data provided will serve as an indication of institutions' pricing policy, permit the monitoring of the evolution of each institution's pricing policy and facilitate comparisons between institutions.
If you are interested in consulting the information, you can find it on the Banco de España website or by clicking on the following link, where you will find information on Annex 1 of Circular 5/2012, including both the individual information reported by each institution and the possibility of making comparisons between them: