B1 · IntermediateAdapted from Expansión

Banks vs Deposits: Paying You Less?

Los bancos y los depósitos: ¿pagar menos al cliente?

Sep 19, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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El Banco Central Europeo (BCE) ha subido los tipos de interés al 2,5%. Esto significa que pedir dinero prestado es más caro. Normalmente, cuando los tipos suben, los bancos también pagan más a los clientes que guardan su dinero en depósitos. Pero esta vez no está pasando igual.

Además, los grandes bancos cada vez se parecen más en la remuneración que ofrecen al cliente. Esto quiere decir que todos pagan intereses similares y muy bajos. Así, los clientes no pueden elegir un banco que pague mucho más que otro.

En resumen, aunque el BCE sube los tipos, los bancos españoles no quieren pagar más por los depósitos. Prefieren mantener el dinero barato para los clientes y ganar más con los préstamos. Esta estrategia les ayuda a tener más beneficios.

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Watch out, English speaker

Spanish 'aunque' can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, and the choice changes the meaning. With the indicative (aunque el BCE sube los tipos), it means 'although' and presents the information as a known fact. English 'although' always takes a plain factual clause, so English speakers often miss that using the subjunctive here would signal a hypothetical or dismissed possibility instead. 'Cada vez más' literally looks like 'each time more', which sounds broken in English. The natural English equivalent is 'more and more' or 'increasingly', placed before the adjective or verb. English speakers may try to translate it word-for-word as 'each time more expensive', which is not idiomatic. Spanish banking vocabulary often uses 'pasivo' for the bank's liabilities, including customer deposits, while English speakers think of 'passive' as a grammatical term or an inactive attitude. In finance, English says 'liabilities' or 'deposits', not 'passive'. Likewise, 'remuneración' in this context means the interest paid to customers, not just 'remuneration' as salary.

Key vocabulary

tipo de interésm.
interest rate
“El BCE ha subido los tipos de interés al 2,5%.”— The ECB has raised interest rates to 2.5%.
Pattern subir los tipos de interés raise interest rates
Compare tasa de interés interest rate
Plural: tipos de interés
💡 tipo originally means "type"; in finance it refers to "rate".
depósitom.
deposit
“Los bancos quieren controlar los depósitos.”— Banks want to control deposits.
Pattern hacer un depósito make a deposit
Compare ahorro savings
Plural: depósitos
💡 From Latin depositum, meaning "something stored".
préstamom.
loan
“Cobrar más por los préstamos que por el pasivo.”— Charge more for loans than for liabilities.
Pattern pedir un préstamo apply for a loan
Compare crédito credit
Plural: préstamos
💡 From the verb prestar (to lend), with the suffix -mo forming a noun.
pasivom.
liabilities; deposits (bank's view)
“La meta es cobrar más por el préstamo que por el pasivo.”— The goal is to charge more for the loan than for the liability.
Pattern el pasivo del banco the bank's liabilities
Compare deuda debt
Plural: pasivos
💡 In finance it refers to the money a bank owes customers, i.e. deposits.
remuneraciónf.
payment; interest
“Los bancos se parecen en la remuneración que dan al cliente.”— Banks are similar in the interest they pay customers.
Pattern remuneración baja low interest
Compare pago payment
Plural: remuneraciones
💡 From Latin remuneratio, meaning "reward".
ahorrarv.
to save
“Los clientes que ahorran reciben poco interés.”— Customers who save receive little interest.
Pattern ahorrar dinero save money
Compare guardar keep
yo ahorro, tú ahorras, él ahorra
💡 From Latin horreum (granary), originally meaning "to store in a granary".
beneficiom.
profit, benefit
“Esta estrategia les ayuda a tener más beneficios.”— This strategy helps them make more profits.
Pattern tener beneficios have profits
Compare ganancia profit
Plural: beneficios
💡 From Latin beneficium, meaning "benefit".
estrategiaf.
strategy
“Esta estrategia les ayuda a tener más beneficios.”— This strategy helps them make more profits.
Pattern una buena estrategia a good strategy
Compare plan plan
Plural: estrategias
💡 From Greek strategia, originally meaning "the art of a general".
elegirv.
to choose
“Los clientes no pueden elegir un banco que pague más.”— Customers cannot choose a bank that pays more.
Pattern elegir un banco choose a bank
Compare escoger pick
yo elijo, tú eliges, él elige
💡 Note the e→i vowel change, similar to pedir.
mantenerv.
to keep, maintain
“Prefieren mantener el dinero barato para los clientes.”— They prefer to keep money cheap for customers.
Pattern mantener bajo keep low
Compare conservar preserve
yo mantengo, tú mantienes, él mantiene
💡 From mano (hand) + tener (to hold), like "to hold with the hand".

Grammar spotlight

aunque + indicative: concessive clauses

Aunque means 'although' and can be followed by the indicative (for known facts) or the subjunctive (for hypothetical situations). In this lesson, aunque el BCE sube los tipos means 'although the ECB raises rates'—a known fact—so the indicative is used.

“Aunque el BCE sube los tipos, los bancos españoles no quieren pagar más por los depósitos.”— Although the ECB raises rates, Spanish banks don't want to pay more for deposits.

⚠️ Don't confuse aunque ('although') with aunque ('even if'); the latter requires the subjunctive when expressing a hypothetical.

cada vez más: 'more and more'

Cada vez más + adjective/adverb/verb expresses a gradual increase. For example: cada vez más caro ('more and more expensive'), cada vez se parecen más ('they look more and more alike').

“Los grandes bancos cada vez se parecen más en la remuneración que ofrecen al cliente.”— The big banks look more and more alike in the interest they offer customers.

⚠️ Don't write cada vez mucho; the correct form is cada vez más.

Sentence patterns to steal

Su meta es clara: cobrar más por los préstamos que por el pasivo.
Their goal is clear: to charge more for loans than they pay on deposits.
Su meta es clara: [infinitive] más por A que por B.A and B can be replaced with other objects of comparison, such as trabajo/ocio.
Los grandes bancos cada vez se parecen más en la remuneración que ofrecen al cliente.
The big banks look more and more alike in the interest they offer customers.
[subject] cada vez se parecen más en [noun].The subject and noun can be replaced, e.g., los estudiantes/la forma de estudiar.
Prefieren mantener el dinero barato para los clientes y ganar más con los préstamos.
They prefer to keep money cheap for customers and earn more from loans.
Prefieren [infinitive 1] y [infinitive 2].The two verbs can be replaced with other actions, such as estudiar/descansar.
Esta estrategia les ayuda a tener más beneficios.
This strategy helps them earn more profits.
Esta [noun] les ayuda a [infinitive].The noun and verb can be replaced, e.g., medida/mejorar.

Spanish Banking Giants

Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, and Sabadell are the four largest banks in Spain. Santander and BBVA are global banks with operations across Latin America, Europe, and the Americas; CaixaBank is Spain's largest domestic retail bank; Sabadell focuses on the Spanish and UK markets. They have enormous influence on the Spanish economy.

Source: Wikipedia/Expansión

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