Spain. Consumer Finance Law

Spanish law grants consumers a very high level of statutory protection. In fact, according to Article 51 of the Spanish Constitution, the provision of consumer protection by the public authorities is one of the guiding principles of social and economic policies. In relation to consumer finance, this has been reinforced by specific legislation and consumer-friendly case law. Broadly speaking, the Spanish consumer finance legal framework is rather fragmented, combining European, national and regional rules; regulations and guidance issued by sectoral supervisory bodies; and case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Spanish Supreme Court (TS).

Therefore, different rules simultaneously regulate the various aspects of consumer finance rather than simply one all-encompassing text, and this sometimes leads to overlaps and inconsistencies. In the course of the past year, the Spanish consumer finance landscape has been affected by decelerated economic growth (in line with the international trend), inflation and higher interest rates. Household mortgage borrowing has been reduced, while consumer credit has continued to grow.

Meanwhile, the rising monthly payments on variable rate mortgages have placed more Spanish households in a situation of economic vulnerability. As a result, the authorities have extended the measures approved in the past few years to mitigate the impact of these adverse economic circumstances on household budgets.

Descarregar pdf