Spanish banks largely unaffected by new CRR III capital regulations

The implementation of the new European capital regulation, CRR III, has had a minimal impact on the major Spanish banking institutions. According to annual reports, Santander, BBVA, and CaixaBank have confirmed they will not suffer any impact from the new rules.

CaixaBank reported that the regulation does not apply to them, as 82.4% of its risk-weighted assets already use the standard method. Santander and BBVA both stated that their exposure remains well below the required thresholds.

Banco Sabadell is the only major Spanish bank to report a slight misalignment. Analysts suggest its CET1 ratio could see a marginal decrease of approximately nine basis points, dropping from 13.16% to 13.07% as the regulation is phased in. The reform, part of the Basel III framework, introduces an ‘output floor’ that requires a minimum percentage of risk-weighted assets to be calculated using standardized methods, a transition that will continue through 2030.