Bank of Spain reports household and corporate debt ratios at historic lows in the first quarter of 2026

The Bank of Spain published the Financial Accounts for the Spanish Economy showing that consolidated debt ratios for both households and non-financial corporations fell to historic lows in the first quarter of 2026. Household debt rose in nominal terms to EUR 728 billion and corporate debt to EUR 1.07 trillion, but relative to gross domestic product they declined to 42.5% and 62.5% respectively, the lowest levels since 1999 for households and 2001 for companies. Household net financial wealth reached 155.3% of GDP, above the average recorded since 2022. Four-quarter accumulated financial asset acquisitions increased for both sectors, reaching 5.8% of GDP for households and 5.0% for companies, both above their averages since 2022. For households, the rise in net wealth was driven mainly by asset revaluations, especially equity and investment fund holdings, while net liability transactions rose to 2.7% of GDP, largely because of higher borrowing. Financial institutions' assets stood at 340% of GDP, below the recent average, but lending by monetary financial institutions increased sharply to 5.1% of GDP from a 1.0% average since 2022, with gains across all resident sectors and particularly for non-financial corporations and households. Public administrations recorded net financial operations of minus 2.2% of GDP, compared with an average of minus 3.7% since 2022. The release updates the quarterly series through the first quarter of 2026. The Financial Accounts for the second quarter of 2026 are scheduled for publication on 8 October 2026.