Best private bank: CaixaBank
CaixaBank won this year’s accolade thanks to its balance-sheet growth, digital innovation and strategic relaunch strategy during the review period.
Private bank assets under management (AUM) rose 17.4% to $207 billion, driven by strong net inflows to discretionary portfolios. The bank added almost 15,800 new discretionary portfolio management (DPM) portfolios during the review period, taking its DPM market share to 36.9% as of June 2025.
What was previously CaixaBank Private Banking rebranded to CaixaBank Wealth Management (CWM) in October 2025, to highlight the bank’s cross-divisional vision and stance as a pioneering and innovative company in terms of products and services.
Between 2025 and 2027, CaixaBank will invest more than €5 billion in technology and digitalisation worldwide under its Cosmos plan. Cosmos is a roadmap for processes and technology to increase the bank’s agility and commercial capacity, develop new services, enhance operational excellence and evolve the current tech platform.
At the end of 2024, CaixaBank launched its Global Portfolio Strategy (GPS), a new platform for private banking advisers to integrate CWM capabilities with BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth tool. By October 2025, 69% of proposals generated by wealth management advisers were made through the GPS platform, as were 66.5% of all signed proposals.
The bank has also launched Noa, a generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based employee assistant developed with Microsoft and Accenture that is helping to reduce costs and enhance productivity. AI is also being used in other areas, such as the integration of Einstein GPT into Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) and the introduction of an AI-powered smart search tool in the mobile app.
Best international private bank: Deutsche Bank Private Bank
Deutsche Bank Private Bank has a strong strategic commitment to the Spanish market, with more than 2,000 staff present across more than 100 branches. Client business volumes and revenues both grew during the review period, with sustained net new asset inflows and good balance-sheet growth.
As well as growing numbers of new-to-bank clients, a large share of existing clients have deepened their relationships with the bank, reflecting wallet-share gains and high client loyalty. Collaboration across segments and lines of business is translating into material new business from synergies, consistent with Deutsche’s Global Hausbank model.
Digital and sustainability are embedded in the bank’s offering. Most wealth and private banking clients now use digital channels; mobile enhancements enable term‑deposit subscription and always‑on information access; while remote signature allows fully digital formalisation of deposits and discretionary portfolio management (DPM) portfolios.
On environmental, social and governance (ESG), a significant share of DPM assets is managed under sustainability criteria, with ESG solutions growing at a strong pace. The result is an international‑grade platform delivering proximity, sophistication and measurable outcomes for Spanish clients.
Best for UHNW: Santander
Santander sets the standard for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) banking in Spain, with comprehensive access, advanced digital oversight and large-scale delivery.
The bank runs the country’s largest UHNW franchise by assets, client size and entry threshold, reflecting a focus on the most sophisticated needs and consistent outperformance against internal growth targets.
The model is built on alignment. In December 2024, Santander Private Banking launched a fully independent UHNW proposition, under which clients pay for advice and open-architecture portfolios. These include discretionary or advisory portfolios, covering model-based and bespoke arrangements, implemented via funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or direct securities.
Execution is complemented by direct access to the sales and trading desk for real‑time bond and equity dealing, open‑architecture structured products with leading global issuers, and Luxembourg vehicles for diversification and efficiency.
Since September 2024, Santander has strengthened UHNW leadership and added front‑office depth: additional ultra bankers; senior UHNW managers; and a 12‑strong Family Office Services team dedicated exclusively to ultra clients.
Together with global reach and robust local execution, the bank provides certainty, speed and institutional‑grade solutions across public and private markets. A new family office consolidation tool gives principals and bankers a holistic, real‑time, full look‑through of total net worth across financial assets, real estate and collectibles.
Best for family office services: Santander
Santander’s new Beyond Wealth platform has achieved rapid early traction, surpassing €800 million in the first four months, demonstrating clear client demand for a comprehensive, family office services solution.
End-to-end client servicing means that families receive strategic wealth planning – including a strategic and business plan for net worth – investment policy design and strategic asset allocation, alongside family and single family office (SFO) governance with robust succession planning. Opportunity sourcing spans public and private markets, real estate and exclusive alternative solutions.
Delivery is cross‑border by design. Santander serves Spanish families based in Miami, Switzerland and other international locations, combining the bank’s global access with local insight to support complex structures and international holdings.
Execution is powered by a high‑calibre team. In 2025, Santander hired 13 seasoned professionals in Spain from leading private banking and multi‑family office firms, complemented by additional senior global hires.
On digital, the platform consolidates financial assets, real estate and real – including collectible – assets in one place, delivering a transparent, real‑time, full look‑through of global wealth; improving decision‑making, oversight and reporting for principals and governance boards.
Best for succession planning: Singular Bank
Singular Bank is Spain’s best private bank for succession planning, delivering impartial, technically robust solutions that preserve family wealth across generations.
Its wealth planning team is independent from investment management, focussing solely on optimal asset‑holding structures and lifetime/estate strategies aligned to client goals.
Advice is delivered directly to clients, without intermediaries, for maximum confidentiality. In this way, advisers help to design the most appropriate asset structure to meet client objectives throughout their life cycle.
The bank’s key strength is its regional expertise. Spain’s autonomous communities apply divergent civil and tax rules, especially around forced‑heirship and allowances, so outcomes hinge on the right instrument, jurisdiction and timing.
Singular’s planners design and execute the most efficient pathway, coordinating legal formalities and ensuring legal certainty. This allows the succession planning teams to deliver estate planning and tax optimisation across jurisdictions, which are compliant with the law whilst minimising the fiscal impact for clients.
Best for client service: SabadellUrquijo Banca Privada
A disciplined, high‑touch model, enhanced by thoughtful digitalisation and concierge services places SabadellUrquijo Banca Privada at the forefront of client service in Spain.
The bank’s model centres on trusted relationships between clients and dedicated private banking directors, backed by in‑house specialists in tax, inheritance, investments and legal matters to deliver tailored solutions with speed and rigour.
SabadellUrquijo combines the strength of a large institution with the personalised attention of a true private bank. The impact of this high-touch service is measurable. By September 2025, the private bank’s net promoter score (NPS) was 45%, up from 38% in 2024, while client satisfaction with their banker rose to 9.31/10 (from 8.95). Referral momentum is strong, with 86% of new clients coming through recommendations.
Service is elevated by exclusive, human touchpoints: a 24/7 dedicated support line, priority service in branches, private meeting spaces and specialist reporting on topics of interest. A rich concierge and lifestyle programme deepens relationships, with almost 150 events in 2024 across economic, cultural, sporting and experiential themes.
Digital delivery is equally client centred. Fully digital onboarding and servicing for Cartera Sabadell (discretionary portfolio management – DPM) allow mandates to be opened from the app or web, with seamless contributions, reimbursements and portfolio changes.
Clients receive mobile alerts for monthly reports and periodic explainer videos on rebalancing decisions; and a reporting hub in the app and web provides valuations, performance and distributions across advisory, DPM and execution‑only portfolios. Remote meetings are standard, and a 24/7 support model ensures continuity out of hours.
Best for discretionary portfolio management: CaixaBank
Scale, penetration, risk‑adjusted outperformance and robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) together position CaixaBank as Spain’s leader in discretionary portfolio management (DPM).
The bank’s DPM assets reached €54 billion in June 2025, with DPM representing 35.1% of total assets under management (AUM). Portfolio assets grew 13% during the review period, taking market share to 36.9%.
Performance has been resilient and controlled. From October 2024 to September 2025, the Carteras Master range delivered strong risk‑adjusted returns. Positive equity markets, despite headwinds from USD depreciation and geopolitics, did not prevent exceptional risk‑adjusted outcomes.
Customisation is wide and practical. As an early DPM adopter, CaixaBank offers one of Spain’s most comprehensive ranges, featuring fund portfolios, equity portfolios and income‑generating mandates.
During the review period, the bank enhanced this range with new building blocks such as SUV Quality, Master Equity and SUV exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Portfolio construction is supported by data‑driven analytics and streamlined due diligence across the value chain, keeping models precise and implementation efficient.
Risk and governance are rigorous. Advisers can simulate portfolio changes and assess impact pre‑trade via the Global Portfolio Strategy (GPS) advisory platform; centralised investment committees and model‑portfolio governance provide consistency; while continuous manager education ensures best practice.
On sustainability, the policy framework applies ESG exclusions, with controversy monitoring and active engagement and voting. In DPM, more than half of Carteras Master assets are in Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Article 8 funds, with no exposure to major adverse social impacts and a focus on minimising environmental ones.
Best for alternative investments: Santander
Santander is Spain’s best private bank for alternative investments, with a clear strategic emphasis on the asset class, delivered at scale and underpinned by robust governance against greenwashing.
Alternatives have grown consistently during recent years to a become a multi‑billion‑euro platform, reflecting sustained demand and execution. A steady, annual growth rate, despite varied market conditions, demonstrates a disciplined, resilient approach rather than occasional momentum‑driven surges.
Delivery is collaborative and client centred. Santander leverages close partnerships with leading external asset managers and its own internal investment teams to originate differentiated, high‑value solutions, moving beyond generic feeders to bespoke, high‑conviction programmes. This model has broadened client access while preserving institutional‑grade selection, monitoring and servicing.
On governance, Santander maintains specific controls within the product model to minimise greenwashing risk, ensuring methodologies are clearly captured and reflected in systems. A supervised, frequently updated product catalogue remains aligned with evolving regulation, enabling precise preference‑matching and credible reporting. Strong screening, documentation and oversight bolster client confidence that sustainability claims are substantive.
Best for sustainability: Banco Sabadell
Banco Sabadell distinguished itself through a sustainability proposition that shows up in day-to-day investing, both in product design and in client holdings.
The bank maintained its strategic fund-distribution alliance with Amundi, positioning responsible investment as a mainstream option rather than a niche add-on. As a result, it achieved tangible scale: by the end of 2024, Sabadell Asset Management offered 24 mutual funds classified as Article 8 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) – funds that promote environmental or social characteristics, with the range expanded through the addition of two new products.
Just as importantly, sustainability was pushed into retail accessibility.
The bank expanded uptake of Cartera Sabadell, its discretionary portfolio management (DPM) service structured to qualify as an SFDR Article 8 product, offering risk-profiled model portfolios from a minimum investment of €500 and reaching more than 17,000 customers during the review period. This helped keep sustainable penetration high: combining Sabadell and Amundi funds distributed by the bank, 84% of customers’ non-guaranteed mutual-fund assets were positioned in Article 8 or Article 9 strategies.
Alongside product growth, Sabadell strengthened its sustainability architecture and disclosure. It updated its sustainable-instruments framework aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, underpinning future green, social and sustainable issuance, and continued publishing impact and allocation reporting for its green-bond programme.
Best for real estate financing: Deutsche Bank Private Bank
Deutsche Bank Private Bank’s real estate financing capabilities in Spain are distinguished by innovation in structuring, strong growth in new lending and a fast‑rising share of green mortgages. New loan volumes rose sharply during the review period, with sustainable lending being a significant contributor.
A senior team of structurers works alongside a nationwide bench of relationship managers to deliver tailored financing for acquisitions, equity release and capital expenditure.
Coverage spans SOCIMIs (Spanish Reits), operating commercial real estate and prime residential, serving resident and non‑resident clients. The model is deliberately boutique: every transaction is crafted in concert with global real estate specialists, wealth planners, legal and risk teams to match asset cash flows, family liquidity plans and long‑term wealth objectives.
Deutsche has innovated by introducing revolving mortgage credit lines for flexibility, multi‑tranche loans that sequence acquisition, refurbishment and post‑completion equity release, and cross‑border structures that accept corporate and personal guarantees across jurisdictions.
This enables efficient solutions linking Spain with the UK, Germany and the US, and supports more complex needs such as bridge‑to‑redevelopment and refurbishment lending. Amortisation is fully customisable so that repayment profiles are aligned to project milestones and income.
Risk management is embedded throughout. An integrated Bank for Entrepreneurs approach and close coordination with the global real estate function enhance due diligence, covenant design and collateral strategy.
