Imelda is a senior economist in the Banking Strategy Department. With a Master's degree in Financial Markets from the Catholic Institute of Business Administration (ICADE), before joining CaixaBank she worked as director of financial systems at Bankia Research. Her main areas of research include the Spanish banking system, especially tracking business volumes, as well as the competitive and regulatory environment of the financial sector.
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Maitane is an analyst in the Department of Strategic Planning. She holds a degree in Economics and Master’s in Banking and Financial Regulation from the University of Navarre. Prior to joining CaixaBank, she worked in the Supervisor Relationship management team at Bankia, and previously at EY as a manager in the department of financial accounting services for the banking sector. Her primary area of research is the Spanish banking system.
José Antonio is a data scientist in the Department of Strategic Planning. He holds a degree from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, where he was part of the second ever intake of the degree in Data Science and Engineering, and he is participating in the first edition of CaixaBank’s Data Talent programme. Prior to joining the bank, and in conjunction with his university studies in Barcelona and Stockholm, he co-founded a tech start-up with two partners, where he complemented his education in technology with a well-rounded and comprehensive view of the business world.
Eduard is a data scientist in the Spanish Economics Department. He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Intelligent Interactive Systems from Pompeu Fabra University, in which he put into practice artificial intelligence applications, machine learning models and big data techniques. He is part of the first edition of CaixaBank’s Data Talent programme.
Isabela holds the position of economist in the International Economics & Markets. Graduated in Economics from Boston University and Master in Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets from the Barcelona School of Economics, before joining CaixaBank she worked at AV Securities as an economic and market research analyst for the wealth management area. Her current areas of study include macroeconomics, especially US monetary policy and activity, and financial markets.
David is an Economist in the Spanish Economics Department. He studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford, then did further study in economics at the Stockholm School of Economics and at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has a masters in finance from Bocconi University. Before joining Caixabank Research, David worked as a trainee and then as a research analyst at the European Central Bank. He is particularly interested in macroeconomics, political economy, and behavioral finance.
Antonio is a research assistant in the Department of International Economies and Markets. He graduated with a double degree in Economics and Law from the Pompeu Fabra University and a master’s degree in Economics from the Barcelona School of Economics. Before joining CaixaBank, he worked at PwC as a consultant in the Strategy& Economics department.
Sandra is the Director of the Banking Strategy Department. With a Doctorate in Economics and a Masters in Economics, Mathematics and Econometrics from the Toulouse School of Economics, at CaixaBank she has also worked in the Department of Innovation and Digital Transformation. Before joining the bank she worked at Endesa and in the Economics department of IESE Business School. Her main areas of study are the Spanish and international banking systems, financial regulation and the impact of digitisation and new technologies on the competitive environment for banks.
The economic policies implemented during the pandemic have cushioned the impact of the crisis on families’ financial situation. On the one hand, a further fall in household income has been avoided while, on the other, the ECB’s accommodative monetary policy has led to a reduction in debt interest payments. A detailed analysis of the effort required by households to pay off their mortgages, based on CaixaBank’s own internal data, duly reweighted to be representative of the Spanish population, shows that these measures have managed to reduce the mortgage burden during the pandemic for most households, although pockets of vulnerability still remain among low-income households.
The slowdown in exports has been one of the main sources of weakness in the Spanish economy in recent quarters. Manufacturing is particularly dependent on sales abroad and has been the epicentre of the deterioration in exports of goods.
The rental housing market has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Its sharp price rises, much bigger than the increase in wage income, has highlighted the economic vulnerability of households living in rented accommodation. These households tend to have a lower-than-average income level and a high percentage of them spend more than 40% of their income on housing-related payments. To redress this worrying situation, much-needed economic policy measures have been taken to increase the supply of affordable housing. However, other types of policies have also been proposed, such as rent caps in stressed market areas, although their effectiveness is limited judging by experiences in other countries.
The rapid rise in house prices in many European countries during the pandemic has raised concerns about the possibility of a price correction in the coming quarters. Should we be worried in the case of Spain? Given the current macroeconomic scenario, we argue that there is no need for concern. This conclusion is largely due to the good financial health of households as a whole and to reasonable housing affordability in aggregate terms. Neither do we expect an upward spiral in prices: prices may pick up while the economy moves back to its pre-pandemic levels but, in the medium term, we expect house prices to grow in line with household income. We have confirmed this using CaixaBank Research’s new risk model (HaR).
The COVID-19 crisis is severely affecting house purchases. Once the slump in transactions during the lockdown has been overcome, the evolution in demand will largely depend on the recovery of the labour market and international tourism over the coming months. Our forecast scenario predicts a gradual recovery in demand, although the more than half a million transactions recorded in 2019 will not be repeated, even in 2021.
Based on CaixaBank’s internal data regarding rent payments, we have constructed indicators for the recent trend in residential rental prices at a provincial level and for the largest municipalities. The results obtained show that there was already a generalised slowdown in rent growth before the pandemic arrived, and that the outbreak of the health crisis extended corrections to most provinces and municipalities, with decreases being especially pronounced among the lowest rents and in the most tourist-oriented municipalities.
We use internal data to analyse the behaviour of foreign visitors who stay in Spain for long periods of time. This is a segment of the population that tends to stay in second homes, seasonal rental homes or specialist accommodation – segments that are experiencing rising demand in Spain’s real estate market.
The pork industry has consolidated its position as the most important sector for Spanish livestock farming, accounting for over 40% of final livestock production. It comprises around 86,500 farms and 2,600 processors, with most of its production concentrated in just three regions: Catalonia, Aragon and Castile & Leon. Recently, the pork industry has managed to handle the fall in demand due to COVID-19 better than other meat sectors, a result of it being less dependent on the hospitality channel and also the increase in demand from China, whose domestic production has been severely affected by African swine fever (ASF). This situation has allowed Spain’s pork industry to consolidate its position as one of the major players in the EU and the world. The challenges that now need to be tackled by the sector include reducing its pollutant emissions and continuing to strictly apply the necessary biosecurity measures to stop ASF from entering Spain.
Foreign demand for housing in Spain has performed exceptionally well after the pandemic. In 2022, foreigners bought 90,000 homes in Spain, 46% more than in 2021. In line with this good performance, the number of mortgages taken out by foreigners also increased and reached 30,000 in 2022, so that one in three foreign buyers took out a mortgage in Spain last year. Foreign residents tend to buy homes and take out mortgages for a similar amount as Spaniards. On the other hand, non-resident foreigners tend to opt for more expensive properties and, consequently, the average mortgage taken out by foreigners is higher, although there are notable differences depending on nationality and autonomous region. The value of mortgages taken out by foreigners in the Balearic Islands is particularly high while, in terms of nationality, Swedes and Americans tend to take out the largest mortgages.
The outbreak of the pandemic has changed the scenario for investment in retail-related property. On the one hand, severe mobility restrictions and social distancing measures have lowered prices and rents for commercial premises, reducing investor interest. On the other hand, COVID-19 has brought about a change in the habits of Spanish consumers that has benefited supermarkets, where investment reached record highs in 2020, and has accelerated the penetration of online commerce in the retail sector, boosting investment in the logistics required to support this sales channel.
Agrifood is the main sector for Spanish industry. The sector has strong roots in Spain, generates stable employment and is very open to other markets. It also tends to have a highly fragmented business structure dominated by small firms and a few large companies that are less productive than their European counterparts. Increasing company size and boosting the productivity of larger firms through investment in R&D and adopting new technologies would help to improve the competitiveness of a key industry for the economy and society as a whole.
House prices and the number of sales have surged since mid-last year in Spain, although there are significant geographical differences. In 2024, house prices grew more vigorously in the most expensive areas, thus widening the price gap between municipalities and regions, and this is causing some of the demand to begin to shift towards more affordable areas. At the provincial level, temperature could be a relevant factor: sales are growing more rapidly in the cooler regions of the Northwest of the peninsula, while the traditional tourist areas are experiencing a more gradual increase in demand. In addition, the sharp rise in house prices in the major cities is causing a shift in housing demand towards more affordable peripheral areas, where house prices are expected to experience rapid growth in 2025.