BANKS AND SAVINGS BANKS

BANCS I CAIXES D'ESTALVIS

Within the financial system, banks (bancs) and savings banks (caixes d’estalvi) basically cater to the financial needs of individuals, businesses, organisations, etc.

The constantly rising number of newcomers to Catalonia has led many financial institutions to offer products and services adapted to immigrants’ requirements.
Both banks and savings banks have extensive networks of branches and offices, and offer a wide range of financial products and services (productes i serveis financers).

Most financial products and services are common to everybody:

It is important to find out about the interest (interessos) and fees (comissions)charged by the various financial institutions, and to make sure that the one you choose provides services effectively and operates with the greatest degree of transparency possible.  

Other frequently requested products include:

  • Transfers (transferències) to other countries.

  • Remittances (remeses) for immigrants. Money can be sent under highly advantageous conditions thanks to agreements with various countries.

  • Insurance policies (assegurances) , which are economic and social products intended to distribute the cost of any losses that an insured person may suffer between all the people covered by such policies. There are insurance policies for different risks, including savings insurance, life insurance (covering the death of the holder), home insurance (covering disasters, thefts, etc.), health insurance, accident insurance and repatriation insurance.

Some financial institutions also work with travel agencies to offer special deals for travelling to your country of origin.       

You will find a complete list of the banks and savings banks closest to your home in any telephone directory, such as the Yellow Pages (Pàgines Grogues), which is available in public call centres.
www.paginasamarillas.es

Further information is available from the Confederation of Savings Banks at
http://www.ceca.es/CECA-CORPORATIVO/es/index.html

Alternatively, see the Bank of Spain’s official register of institutions at
http://www.bde.es/servicio/regis/regent.htm