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Possible fraudulent lending from abroad

Spanish companies and private individuals are receiving offers of loans from banks and institutions located in foreign countries, under much more favourable conditions than those currently available on the market. The Banco de España, which has been made aware of these offers through enquiries received and statements of foreign transactions, warns that in most cases these practices are cover-ups for fraud and deception.

Generally speaking, these institutions are apparently domiciled in obscure states, about which it is very difficult to gain information. It has also been observed on many occasions that these "phantom" banks do not possess the pertinent authorisation to operate in the place where they claim to have their headquarters.

The fraud works as follows: In order to the collect the loans, the customer must advance an amount to cover fees and commissions, delivery costs, management and processing, or send funds to open an account in the "phantom" institution where the false loan will be deposited. The loan obviously never materialises and the sums advanced are never recovered.

The Banco de España wishes to warn about these practices and asks you to always distrust operations where the conditions are more favourable than those offered by the market; proposals by unknown institutions with headquarters in remote countries; and those using banking practices that are not normal, and it advises never to pay out money in advance.

Lastly, it would like to point out that the rules governing financial transactions with foreign countries require companies or private residents in Spain to declare the apertura de cuentas en el exterior and the préstamos recibidos de no residentes for statistical and administrative purposes. Nevertheless, the processing of these statements by the Banco de España does not means that it validates or is supervising the transactions declared or the institutions involved in them.