Bankinter comes up repeatedly in first-hand accounts from foreign buyers in Spain, usually favourably. It also does not appear in a single one of Upscore’s completed Spanish purchases.
Both are true, and explaining why is more useful than picking one. This page also covers what the bank publishes — which, like every Spanish bank, is not the non-resident criteria.
The quick answers
- Does Bankinter lend to non-residents? Yes, and buyers describe it as having a specific non-resident programme.
- What loan-to-value? 60% of the lower of purchase price and valuation — the strictest published base of the three main Spanish banks.
- The rule that matters for a US or UK buyer: Bankinter does not offer a fixed rate to anyone whose income is not in euros.
- The only Spanish bank that names the credit bureaus: for an applicant in England, Experian and Equifax, with links.
- Is it in Upscore’s completed purchases? No — and that is not evidence against it. Read the section before drawing a conclusion.
- What did a real quote look like? One 2023 comparison had Bankinter offering a hybrid: three years fixed, then Euribor plus a margin, over 25 years — the longest term of the three banks quoted.
- The recurring theme in accounts: the local branch relationship, more than the product.
What does Bankinter publish about non-resident mortgages?
More than Sabadell and less than CaixaBank — but what it does publish is unusually specific. Checked in August 2026:
| What Bankinter states | |
|---|---|
| Maximum loan | 60% of the lower of the purchase price and the valuation |
| Term | 25 years |
| Rate | Fixed available only if your income is in euros. See below |
| Credit history | Requires a report from your country of residence, and names the bureaus — for England, Experian and Equifax with links |
It does not publish a debt-to-income ceiling.
The 60% is the strictest of the three big banks, and the base makes it stricter still. Where CaixaBank publishes 70% of the purchase price, Bankinter publishes 60% of the lower of price and valuation, so a valuation under your agreed price cuts the loan further. On a €250,000 purchase valued at €235,000 that is €141,000 against CaixaBank’s €175,000 — not a 10-point difference but a €34,000 difference in the cash you bring.
Add roughly 10 to 13% in purchase taxes and fees that cannot be borrowed: regional rates from the Spanish tax agency, notary tariff from the notaries’ association, the total by region from our cost calculator, rate level from the Bank of Spain.
The rule that excludes American and British buyers
Bankinter offers its fixed-rate mortgage only to applicants whose income is in euros.
It is a published condition, not an inference, and it never mentions nationality. But the effect is exactly that: an American paid in dollars and a Briton paid in sterling are both outside it — the two largest groups of foreign buyers in Spain.
What is left is the variable rate, which is a different risk: a non-resident servicing a euro mortgage from foreign income already carries exchange-rate exposure, and Euribor movement is a second unknown. CaixaBank offers a fixed rate in your own currency for dollars and sterling.
No comparison guide mentions this, and if a fixed payment matters to you it changes which bank you approach first.
The three Spanish banks side by side
| CaixaBank | Banco Sabadell | Bankinter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publishes its non-resident criteria | Yes — 8 of 9 points, mostly in an English-language guide | No — only that the limit “is usually lower” | Partly |
| Maximum loan-to-value | 70% | Not published | 60% |
| Calculated on | the purchase price | — | the lower of price and valuation |
| Maximum term | 20 years (15 for some currencies) | Not published | 25 years |
| Age limit | Oldest applicant’s age + term ≤ 80 | Not published | Not published |
| Fixed rate if you are paid in USD or GBP | Yes, in your own currency | Advertised offer is euro-income only | No — euro income only |
| Names the credit bureau to use | No | No | Yes — Experian and Equifax for England |
| Median time to completion, Upscore files | 154 days | 144 days | Does not appear in our completions |
| Faster with | American applicants | British applicants | — |
Bank criteria checked August 2026 against each bank’s own pages, guides and rate sheets. Completion times are Upscore’s own files; the nationality pattern comes from samples below fifty cases, so read it as direction rather than measurement.
Two rows deserve a second look. The base matters as much as the percentage — on a €250,000 purchase valued at €235,000, CaixaBank’s published 70% of price is €175,000 while Bankinter’s 60% of the lower figure is €141,000. That is a €34,000 difference in the cash you bring, not a ten-point difference. And the currency you are paid in decides more than your nationality does.
Why Bankinter does not appear in our completed purchases
Across the Spanish purchases Upscore has completed, the lender was Sabadell, CaixaBank or UCI. Bankinter does not appear.
It does not mean Bankinter declines foreign buyers. Our record describes the files that reach us and the banks we route them to — our own pipeline, not a survey of the market.
It does mean we cannot tell you anything first-hand about working with them. For Sabadell and CaixaBank we publish median completion times from our own files; for Bankinter we have none, and we are not borrowing someone else’s numbers to present as experience.
What buyers actually say about Bankinter
Two accounts from people who applied, not from brokers. The first is a buyer who shopped several banks and ended up there:
“I do happen to have some experience with non-resident mortgages in Spain. I bought an apartment about 4 years ago and had to do some shopping to find the best deal. The options were rather limited because non-residents won’t have a paycheck they can get a hold on or any other assets they can go after if something goes wrong. I ended up getting a mortgage with Bankinter. They offered rather low interest after agreeing to keep an investments account with them. They are pretty good dealing with non-residents.”
— r/ExpatFIRE, Non resident mortgage in Spain? (October 2022)
“Rather low interest after agreeing to keep an investments account with them” is the bundling mechanism: the rate improved in exchange for holding assets at the bank. Ley 5/2019 prevents a Spanish lender making a mortgage conditional on other products but allows it to price a lower rate when you take them — so a quote assuming an investment account is not comparable to one that does not.
And “non-residents won’t have a paycheck they can get a hold on” names the mechanism behind every non-resident restriction in Spain. It is not distrust: there is less for a lender to hold on to, and the deposit closes that gap.
A second commenter acted on the recommendation, visited a branch while in Spain, and reported establishing a relationship with the branch director — the branch is a variable, for every Spanish bank. That follows from Spain having no credit score: the Bank of Spain’s CIRBE records loans held in Spain and ASNEF unpaid debts, and both come back empty for a first-time foreign buyer. Both accounts are from 2022 and are individual experiences, not criteria.
What did a Bankinter quote look like?
One buyer collected three quotes in the same month on the same profile:
“-Bankinter: Hybrid mortgage 3 years fixed 3,6% and after that Euribor + 1,6% Home + Life insurance 25 years […] Caixabank seems the best one by far. Especially for fixed mortgages.”
— r/GoingToSpain, How do I get a good mortgage rate as a non-resident? (August 2023)
Those rates are from 2023 and are not a current quote. What travels is the structure: a hybrid — three years fixed then Euribor plus a margin — over 25 years, five longer than the Sabadell and CaixaBank quotes in the same thread. A longer term lowers the payment and raises the total interest, and for a non-resident whose capacity is capped by a debt-to-income ratio it is sometimes what makes the file work at all.
The full three-way comparison is in our Sabadell and CaixaBank pages.
What will Bankinter ask you for?
The standard Spanish non-resident file — passport and NIE, payslips or accounts, six months of statements from every account, every existing debt payment wherever it sits, tax returns, sworn translations, a Spanish bank account, and a credit report from your country of residence. The full list is in mortgages in Spain for non-residents.
Bankinter is the most specific of the Spanish banks on this, and it publishes the requirement per country. Its documentation sheet for applicants resident in England lists, among the items needed to assess the mortgage:
“Credit Report: https://www.experian.co.uk/ https://www.equifax.co.uk/”
The Spanish column of the same sheet labels that line “Justificación de deudas” — proof of debts. That framing is the useful part: the report is not being read as a score, it is being read as evidence of what you owe. Neither CaixaBank nor Sabadell names a bureau.
Worth knowing that it varies by country: the sheet for applicants in Ireland asks for a credit report without naming a provider, and the Belgian and Dutch sheets do not ask for one at all. (Checked August 2026 on Bankinter’s own non-resident brochure pages.)
Two published facts sit behind the requirement: Ley 5/2019 art. 12.1 obliges every Spanish lender to assess credit history, and the CIRBE records only Spanish credit, so it returns nothing for a foreign buyer. Reading the second as the reason for the first is ours, not a bank’s. Both are true: no Spanish score, and the report is required.
The hard filter is the ratio. Across Upscore’s Spanish applications, among applicants whose housing costs already took more than 35% of their income, none completed a purchase (n=333). No branch relationship moves that.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bankinter give mortgages to non-residents?
Yes. Buyers describe a specific non-resident programme, and the bank does not publish the criteria for it.
What is Bankinter’s maximum LTV for a non-resident?
60% of the lower of the purchase price and the valuation — the strictest published base of the three main Spanish banks.
Can I get a fixed rate from Bankinter if I am paid in dollars or pounds?
No. Its published condition for the fixed-rate product is income in euros. The variable rate remains available, and CaixaBank offers a fixed rate in dollars or sterling.
Should I choose Bankinter over Sabadell or CaixaBank?
We cannot answer that from our own record, because Bankinter does not appear in our completed purchases. What we can say is that the same file produces different offers in Spain, so it is worth including in a shortlist rather than choosing on reputation.
Does Bankinter require an investment account?
It cannot require one as a condition of the loan — tying is prohibited by Ley 5/2019. One buyer reports a better rate for holding an investments account, which is the permitted version: a discount, not a condition.
Is the branch important?
Multiple accounts say yes, for every Spanish bank. With no shared credit score the person reading your file has more discretion than a US or UK borrower would expect.
Can I apply without going to Spain?
You can start remotely, though several accounts report better responsiveness after an in-person branch visit. Completion happens at the notary, in person or by power of attorney to a Spanish lawyer.
The bottom line
Bankinter is well regarded by the foreign buyers who have used it and offered the longest term in the one real three-bank comparison we can point to. It also has the strictest published loan-to-value of the three, on the strictest base, and does not offer its fixed rate to anyone paid outside the euro — which covers most American and British buyers.
And it does not appear in any of our own completed purchases, which reflects our pipeline rather than the bank.
Take all of that as a reason to include it in a shortlist rather than to start there. Ask two questions in the first conversation: what the maximum loan is and what it is calculated on, and whether a fixed rate is available on your income. The seven questions to ask any Spanish intermediary work just as well on a branch manager.
Once you have a specific property in mind, Upscore’s Finance Passport shows which Spanish banks will approve your profile. It is free and takes under fifteen minutes. See also mortgages in Spain for non-residents and Spanish mortgage rates for non-residents.
