The Valencia branch office, bringing the Banco de España closer to the public

The Banco de España’s branch network has a long history, adapting to technological progress and the needs of society. The Strategic Plan 2030 builds on this, seeking to make the branch offices more useful and accessible nationwide. Against this backdrop, the Valencia branch office proved its value to society during the flash floods, where it played a vital role in cash management, and more recently, through the launch of a new public service. In this post, we look at two initiatives where innovation and tradition come together to serve society. Let's see how.

The Banco de España and its Valencia branch office responded swiftly to the flash floods in order to restore normal access to means of payment, particularly cash.

The Banco de España’s branch network dates back to 1874, but the Valencia office opened earlier, in 1858. Along with Alicante, it was the first Banco de España branch office outside Madrid.

The traditional role of branch offices has centred on managing the cash cycle, while providing a range of services directly to the public, including cash exchange, public debt subscription, CCR credit risk information requests, enquiries and complaints.

The Strategic Plan 2030 redefines their role, seeking to make them more useful and accessible to the public, and to decentralise some of the Bank’s functions. Initiatives already under way include expanding financial education activities through the branch network and creating the technological innovation department (DELTA) at the Barcelona branch, to promote the use of artificial intelligence and new technologies at the Banco de España.

The Valencia branch office is playing a key role in this transformation, combining new initiatives, such as offering personal finance advice, with its long-standing role in cash management.

How the Banco de España and the Valencia branch office responded to the flash floods

As part of its commitment to being more useful to society, the Banco de España responded swiftly to the devastation caused by the October 2024 flash floods.

The destruction brought economic activity to a standstill and severely disrupted payment systems in a densely populated area with many shops and leisure venues, as well as significant industrial and services activity.

ATMs and point-of-sale terminals in the hardest-hit areas stopped working. Mud and water damaged the cash kept in bank branches, shops and homes. One of the main cash-in-transit companies, Loomis, saw its facilities flooded.

The Banco de España and its Valencia branch office had to mobilise their resources to restore payment services, which was essential for economic activity to return to normal in the affected area. To this end:

1) A fast-track procedure was set up for collecting damaged cash from credit institutions and cash-in-transit companies, allowing mud-covered banknotes and coins to be deposited without prior sorting by denomination.

2) Cash exchange services at branches were bolstered so that people from affected areas could be served without an appointment. Banknotes and coins that could be identified were exchanged on the spot. Those requiring closer inspection were collected and credited once their authenticity had been verified.

A pilot programme offering personal finance guidance

Protecting members of the public who use financial services is one of our core responsibilities, and it has become an even greater priority under our new Strategic Plan. With this objective in mind, in November 2025 the Banco de España launched a new service offering personal finance advice at its Valencia branch office. This pilot aims to make the Banco de España even more accessible to the public by offering tailored support face-to-face to help people address questions and problems that affect their financial well-being.

The personal finance advice service being tested at the Valencia branch office is one of many other ways of helping the public and making the Banco de España more accessible.

The service has two main goals:

• to provide an additional channel for protecting the rights of bank customers through direct, in-person assistance to build confidence;
• to guide and educate consumers, promoting financial literacy.

This new service complements other well-established resources, such as the bank customer enquiries service, the Bank Customer Portal and the Complaints Service, and is intended to be another manifestation of the Bank’s commitment to helping the general public.

Chart 1
ENQUIRIES RECEIVED BY THE BANCO DE ESPAÑA 2015-24

SOURCE: Banco de España

We use these resources to share information with the public and effectively monitor the application of good banking practices. This is one of the ways in which we encourage proper conduct by financial institutions in the marketing of their products and services.

What kind of advice is offered?

You can see a summary in Figure 1. 

During its first few months, advice was offered mostly around two areas:

1. Bank accounts and transfers. The most common enquiries have been about responsible investing, financial fraud, difficulties accessing basic banking services and the steps involved in opening basic payment accounts. These are all issues that directly affect people’s access to essential financial services.
2. Mortgages and consumer loans. Most enquiries in this area have concerned the negotiation of terms, registered encumbrances and cases of mortgage borrowers facing financial difficulties. The level of demand highlights the need for specialist advice on more complex financial decisions.

Figure 1
THE PERSONAL FINANCE GUIDANCE SERVICE AT THE BANCO DE ESPAÑA’S VALENCIA BRANCH (click on the buttons for more details)

SOURCE: Banco de España

The first phase of the pilot project, only rolled out in Valencia, has focused on household finances. Depending on the results, the Banco de España will consider offering this service in other branch offices and broadening its scope to cover additional groups (the self-employed, small and medium-sized enterprises, etc.), allowing more people across Spain to benefit from trusted specialist advice.

The growing use of the Banco de España’s enquiry and information services shows that an increasing number of people need support to better understand and manage their finances. Initiatives such as these are helping us take another step forward in our commitment to providing an accessible and useful service to the public as an institution that strives to protect people’s rights and encourage good banking practices.

Manuel Rubio Ros

• Valencia branch office

Francisco V. Soler Tormo

• Valencia branch office