The banking associations AEB and CECA have initiated legal action against the new bank tax, filing an administrative appeal against the Ministerial Order approving the self-assessment and fractional payment model for the tax (Order HAC/532/2025), recently published in the Official State Gazette.
These actions highlight the rejection already expressed by the sector last November, when this new figure was incorporated into the tax system to continue the extraordinary levy on banking created in 2022.
Following the publication of the Order, they reiterate their rejection of the tax due to its serious effects on the financing of families and businesses, its negative impact on investment, and, in general, its detriment to the economy as a whole. AEB and CECA also emphasize that Spanish banking is the only one subject to such a tax in Europe, which represents a competitive disadvantage compared to other European banking entities.
It should be recalled that, as with the extraordinary levy, the European Central Bank (ECB) spoke out in December 2024 against this new tax and warned of its adverse effects, among other reasons, for “limiting the capacity of entities to grant credit and potentially contributing to less favorable conditions for loan customers and other services,” in addition to potentially producing “unforeseen consequences for the solvency and competitiveness of credit institutions.”
The ECB’s criticism has recently been supported by the Bank of Spain in its Spring Financial Stability Report, not only for its negative effects on credit and the ability to cope with disruptions, but also because it “can lead to the fragmentation of the European financial system.” The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a recent report published in April, also requested the Spanish Government to “discontinue” this new tax.
