Under its conduct supervision mandate, the Banco de España focuses on the specific organisational and disciplinary rules applicable to financial institutions.
However, banks are also subject to rules of a more general nature concerning their customers. Given the particular importance of these regulations, they call for action from all institutions and society as a whole.
This is particularly true of regulations concerning persons with disabilities. The current legal framework, established in 2021, marked a watershed for these individuals, their families, the courts and notaries, the authorities and, also, the institutions supervised by the Banco de España. In particular, to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their legal capacity, it introduced a new support system which, in addition to voluntary arrangements, provides for de facto guardians, representative and support curators and judicial defenders.
To support financial institutions in adapting to these regulations, the Banco de España acts as observer and consultant in a special working group, which is governed by a Framework protocol for collaboration 
(4 MB) (only available in Spanish).
This working group has been conceived as a permanent body and includes representatives from the Banco de España, the public prosecution service and the main banking sector associations (the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), the Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) and the Spanish Association of Credit Cooperatives (UNACC)).
The group’s mission is to study, assess and share best practices in the banking industry to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their legal capacity. To date, the following documents (only available in Spanish) have been developed under this agreement:
On bank operations with the support of a de facto guardian:
- Guidelines to the Framework Protocol between the public prosecution service and banking associations. De facto guardianship in Law 8/2021 (July 2023) (299 KB)
- Visual guide “De facto guardianship for the elderly and persons with disabilities” (February 2026) (252 KB)
- Infographic “De facto guardianship of persons with disabilities in banking: key concepts” (February 2026) (254 KB)
On protecting the financial interests of persons with disabilities: