Although Spanish banks had already been in a war for several months to capture payrolls, in recent weeks it has intensified. On the other hand, maintain your refusal to transfer the change in the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) to the remuneration of deposits, where the best offers come from foreign banks, ‘online’ banking or neobanks. The objective is none other than to increase the number of loyal customers, more profitable in the long run, and to guarantee regular income once all the TLTROS are returned to the European supervisor in the coming months.
In recent days, Bankinter has launched the latest offensive. The entity headed by María Dolores Dancausa doubles the maximum remunerable balance of her Payroll Account. To date, the product paid 5% the first year for the first 5,000 euros, while the second the return fell to 2%. His offer, which was addressed to payrolls of 800 euros or more, made it possible to obtain profits of 340 euros. The bank has recognized on many occasions that it was an important means of attracting new banking customers. However, the competition has not only replicated this model, but has sometimes improved on it, by combining cash and attractive compensation. This has caused the bank to improve conditions and raise the maximum balance to be remunerated to 10,000 euros, which makes it possible to obtain a profit of 680 euros, after deducting expenses.
And it is that Bankinter has noticed the effects of this strong competition. In the first quarter, the balance of payroll accounts had a 4% drop compared to the previous quarter to 15,300 million euros, which according to the entity, will be due to the fact that part of this volume went to other investment products within the own entity. However, banks will have to deal in the coming months with returns from ECB liquidity injections. Its return can cause liquidity ratios, LCR, to fall and force entities to advance the remuneration of deposits, a decision that would impact the evolution of interest income. This war is also due to the fact that the loyal customer is a more profitable customer, since it is easier for them to sign new products (mortgages or investment funds) with their reference bank. In addition, the permanence period, of two years in the case of Bankinter, allows the entity to ensure this periodic income.
Another of the entities that have improved their offer in payroll accounts is Banco Sabadell. At the end of the year, the entity launched an offer for which it gave 150 euros to those who linked their payroll (or periodic income) of at least 700 euros with the bank. It also gave access to a remuneration of 2%. Over the months, he has been improving his offer, so now he pays 200 euros and the profitability of his ‘online account’ has increased to 2.5% for a maximum amount of 30,000 euros. The entity’s client can obtain a profit of up to 950 euros gross. From the entity they have recognized that the promotion is working very well for them.
This same strategy has been replicated by Abanca. The entity had stood out in the war to attract payrolls by giving away 300 euros in cash to those who direct a payroll of at least 1,200 euros (for smaller imports the gift is reduced to 150 euros) and now it also pays 2% interest for balances of up to 15,000 euros, which would imply obtaining gross profits of 600 gross euros. For its part, Openbank also improved the remuneration of its Welcome Account with Payroll. Thus, the subsidiary of Banco Santander went from paying a 5.12% APR to those who deposit periodic income of 900 euros for six months and for the first 5,000 euros to extending the term to one year.
Caixabank and Banco Santander, for high payrolls
At the beginning of the year, Caixabank went for high payrolls: those who entered a minimum of 2,500 euros per month. To do this, it launched a deposit offer similar to that of Bankinter. The entity chaired by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri paid 5% APR the first year for a maximum import of 5,000 euros. The bank has confirmed that during the first three months of the year it has allowed them to capture 433,000 new payrolls, an evolution that has made them extend the offer until June. The entity’s objective with this launch was to increase its payroll base to 6 million.
For its part, Banco Santander gives away 350 euros to those customers who deposit periodic income in the entity amounting to 2,500 euros. For smaller imports, the cash gift is also reduced to 150 euros (although the minimum amount must exceed 60 euros). BBVA awards 50 euros if the customer manages to attract friends to the bank, for a maximum of 500 euros. For those ‘sponsored’ the gift will be 150 euros in cash.
