GDPR Compliance in Madrid
Madrid is Spain's financial capital and home to two of the world's largest banks: Banco Santander (€1.8T in assets, 170M+ customers globally) and BBVA (€760B in assets, operations in 25 countries). CaixaBank — formed by the 2021 merger with Bankia — is Spain's largest domestic bank. The IBEX 35 stock index, traded on Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), lists most major Spanish financial institutions. Spain's Banco de España and CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) provide complementary oversight for banks and capital markets respectively, with additional supervision from DGSFP for insurance.
Request a demoWhy GDPR matters in Madrid
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR / DSGVO) governs the processing of personal data of individuals in the EU, with penalties of up to €20M or 4% of annual global turnover. In Germany, the BDSG (Federal Data Protection Act) adds national requirements including mandatory DPO appointment for organizations with 20+ employees processing personal data.
Santander and BBVA, operating across Latin America, Europe, and the US, face DORA compliance across dozens of subsidiaries with different regulatory regimes — making automated compliance platforms essential rather than optional. Spain transposed NIS2 through the Ley de Coordinación y Gobernanza de la Ciberseguridad in 2024, with INCIBE (National Cybersecurity Institute) handling incident coordination. The CNMV has been increasingly active in digital finance regulation, publishing guidance on cloud outsourcing and algorithmic trading that aligns with DORA. Madrid's thriving FinTech ecosystem — Bizum (mobile payments), Flywire, Aplazame — operates under PSD2 and DORA, requiring compliance automation to scale. The Banco de España's fintech sandbox has accelerated digital innovation while simultaneously raising compliance expectations.
Supervisory Bodies
Banco de España, CNMV, DGSFP
Key Industries
- Global Banking & G-SIBs
- Insurance & Asset Management
- Capital Markets & BME
- FinTech & Payments