Bank commissions in Spain

If you're North American, you may be shocked by the high fees charged by banks in Spain. The Bank of Spain sets maximum fees that banks may charge their clients. You must negotiate the fees or quite possibly the maximum fees will be applied. Naturally, the strength of your bargaining position depends on how much you use your account. The agreements you reach may expire after a year, so we recommend going each year to renegotiate the fees.

Since many bank fees are based on a percentage, if you're sending or receiving a large international transfer, to buy a house for example, you should negotiate the fees on this particular transfer. For international transfers, you can choose to pay all bank commissions, have the other bank pay all commissions, or share the commissions. Be very careful about paying all commissions for a large transfer, since you are not a client of the other bank. It is generally best to choose shared commissions.

The following are sample bank commissions from La Caixa.

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