Credit servicer license in Spain: the new authorization for servicing

It is what Directive (EU) 2021/2167 calls a credit servicer: a company that, on behalf of a credit purchaser, manages and enforces the rights and obligations under non-performing loans (NPLs) originated by EU credit institutions, covering collection, renegotiation, complaint handling and communication with the borrower.

In Spain, the Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers Bill will turn this into an activity authorized and supervised by the Bank of Spain.

Companies that service non-performing loans on behalf of buyers will need it: servicers and debt collection agencies that work on bank portfolios.

Already supervised entities do not need it (credit institutions and financial credit establishments, which service loans under their own regime), and players such as notaries, collective investment scheme management companies and SAREB itself fall outside the scope.

The bill requires evidence that the management body has the necessary good repute, experience and knowledge, that shareholders with qualifying holdings are suitable, and that the entity has robust governance arrangements, internal control mechanisms and appropriate policies, including policies on protecting and treating borrowers.

You apply to the Bank of Spain with a complete file, and it will have a maximum of 90 days to decide from receipt of the complete documentation; if it does not decide in time, the application is deemed rejected. Once authorization is granted, the entity is entered in the relevant register.

In practice: with deemed rejection if no decision is made and the whole industry applying at once, the quality of your initial application is the variable you control.

Yes: the Directive sets up a passport for credit servicers. A servicer authorized in Spain will be able to provide services in other Member States by notification between authorities, without new local licenses. For platforms with European ambitions, it is one of the major opportunities of the new regime.

The conduct layer is central to the new regime:

• Clear information to the borrower after the assignment of the loan and about who is servicing it.
• Fair and diligent treatment, with respect for the borrower’s situation and for the applicable protection rules.
• Accessible and documented complaint handling systems.
• Policies on renegotiation and restructuring measures before resorting to judicial enforcement.

All backed by evidence: as far as the supervisor is concerned, what cannot be proven does not exist.

The Directive provides for a transitional regime: those already providing credit servicing may continue their activity for a limited period while they obtain authorization under the new framework.

The mistake would be to read it as extra time to relax: the transitional period is the window to put governance, policies and evidence in order without halting operations. Anyone who uses it up without preparing the application will be putting business continuity at risk.

The credit purchaser does not need authorization, but takes on obligations: respecting the original terms of the agreement and the borrower’s rights, appointing an authorized servicer where required and sending periodic information to the Bank of Spain on the portfolios acquired.

The servicing agreement is the document that allocates these responsibilities: it is worth renewing it with the new regime in mind.

No. As of July 2026, Bill 121/000049 (approved by the Council of Ministers on March 4, 2025 and published in the Official Gazette of the Cortes Generales on March 14, 2025) is still in the parliamentary process. The details cited on this page come from that text and from the Directive, and may change before final approval. We update this page at every relevant milestone.

No: the scope covers non-performing loans originated by EU credit institutions and EFCs. The collection of trade debts, utility debts or business-to-business debts falls outside this regime (although it is subject to its own data protection and conduct rules). If your portfolio mixes origins, the detailed portfolio-by-portfolio analysis is the first task.

Selling institutions will have duties to provide information to the buyer on the loans transferred and to submit semi-annual reports to the Bank of Spain on the transactions carried out. Portfolio sales become more traceable: divestment processes must build in these steps from the moment the transaction is designed.

The Directive requires third-country buyers to appoint a representative in the Union and, where required (notably for loans to consumers), to entrust servicing to an authorized credit servicer. For international funds, structuring a purchase in Spain means securing that piece.

The regime provides for funds received from borrowers to be subject to special protection (segregation and protection against the servicer’s insolvency), in line with the option that the Directive gives Member States. The design of the collection circuit (accounts, reconciliations, remittances to the buyer) is part of the application, not an operational detail.

Any outsourcing of functions by the servicer (technology, contact center, document management) will have to be documented and controlled, and the financial institutions it works with already require digital resilience standards equivalent to DORA across their supply chains. Putting contracts, SLAs and business continuity in order is part of the preparation.