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BBVA vela atardecer

Spanish economy 11th March 2025

Securities Market Commission authorises BBVA to offer trading and custody services for bitcoins and ether in Spain

Alphavalue / Divacons | The bank announced yesterday that it has received approval from the Securities Market Commission (CNMV) to offer trading and custody services for bitcoins and ether in Spain. The bank explained that the rollout of this service will initially begin with a small group of users and will be extended in the coming months to all its individual customers in Spain, based on the experience gained in…

Forty years of Spanish constitution: What's next?

In Spain 11th March 2025

PSOE’s partners in Government refuse to increase military spending

The parties belonging to Sumar, the far-left coalition that is part of the government led by the PSOE, held a meeting late on Monday afternoon (which extended into the early hours of the night) to try to reach a consensus on the latest mandate from the European Council before the meeting between the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz – leader of Sumar – and the president of the Government. The…

vivienda españa

Spanish economy 11th March 2025

House prices in Spain up 11.3% year-on-year in Q4 2024 against 8.1% previously, no signs of bubble

Bankinter | The House Price Index, produced by the INE, points to a price increase of 11.3% in Q4 2024 (year-on-year), against 8.1% previously. In quarter-on-quarter terms, up 1.8% versus 2.8% previously). Analysts’ opinion: House prices are a positive surprise and will exceed our forecast of an 8% rise for 2024. They are supported by a strong labour market, supply shortages and interest rate cuts. We expect further price rises…

Congreso

In Spain 10th March 2025

Budgets, housing plan, reduction of working hours, judicial reform, all stalled because government lacks majority in Congress

There are no budgets, nor does the government expect there to be any, at least in the short term. The unblocking of dialogue with Junts, in exchange for new concessions such as shared competencies in immigration, has not managed to clear a legislature that is ‘barren in substantial reforms’… ‘The government’s major announcements, such as the reduction of working hours, housing assistance measures, the democratic regeneration plan, or the modernization…

España bancos

In Spain 8th March 2025

Spanish banks: Headwinds in 1H25 due to risks of somewhat weak NII; downgraded target prices and recommendations, except for Santander, BBVA and Bankinter

Deutsche Bank | Spanish banks have experienced a strong rebound in late 2024 and early 2025 (up 30% year-on-year), significantly outperforming their European peers. Driven by resilient NII, prospects for more stable interest rates and a generally benign macroeconomic environment in Spain supporting activity and asset quality, this positive trend could face potential temporary headwinds. Despite the encouraging results of Q4 2024 and the broadly positive outlook for 2025, the…

Closed

Spanish economy 7th March 2025

Small businesses in Spain closing at rate of 26 shops a day

Small businesses have experienced a negative trend over the past year, with up to 26 small businesses closing each day, amounting to 9,739 shops that have shut down in the last twelve months, according to data provided by the self-employed association, Uatae. Uatae claims that these figures demonstrate that “small businesses are still in crisis,” due to rising costs, disparities in digitalization, and the strong competition posed by large platforms…

turismo playa

Spanish economy 7th March 2025

Spain receives 5.1 million international tourists in January, spending up almost 9%

CdM | In January, 5.1 million international tourists visited Spain, 6.1% more than in the same month last year, with total spending up 8.9% to €7.132 billion, according to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The United Kingdom was the main country of residence, with 863,286 tourists and an increase of 3.6% compared to January 2024. 641,201 came from France (12.2% more) and 537,842 tourists from Germany…

CaixaBank nuevito

Spanish economy 6th March 2025

Criteria and ‘la Caixa’ Foundation return to Catalonia seven years after the ‘procés’

CriteriaCaixa – the business holding of the Caixa Group, with stakes valued at €30 billion in a wide range of companies (Naturgy, Telefónica, ACS…) – and the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation have returned their headquarters to Catalonia almost seven and a half years after relocating to Palma. CaixaBank will remain in Valencia, where it moved during the same period. The Banking Foundation Caixa d’Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona has agreed to…

criteria

In Spain 5th March 2025

CriteriaCaixa to acquire up to 5% of Veolia

Veolia and CriteriaCaixa, the investment arm of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, have reached an agreement whereby CriteriaCaixa will enter the capital of Veolia Environnement and will have a representative on its Board of Directors, as part of a stable participation agreement in the shareholding and governing bodies of Veolia, as announced by the Catalan group on Tuesday. The entity will allocate around one billion euros to the operation. Veolia, a…

Telefonica

In Spain 4th March 2025

Telefónica president calls on EU to modify regulations to ‘consolidate and grow’

The executive chairman of Telefónica, Marc Murtra, emphasized on Monday in Barcelona, during his participation in the opening session of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the need for Europe to allow consolidation in the European telecommunications sector so that operators can gain size and strengthen their technological potential. “We must be aware that the excessive fragmentation of European TMTs, excessive regulation, and insufficient profitability in the sector have hindered Europe,…