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Guarantees

We answer for you.

Because whatever the reason you need a guarantee, we have the answer. Because we have always been, and continue to be, a bank that specialises in guarantees.

  • Public sector tenders.
  • Advertising rights.
  • In courts before the Ministry of Justice.
  • ...
Avales

We respond to what you need:

All you need is a guarantee facility

To request a guarantee, you only need a guarantee facility. This is easy to open at your company's Bankinter branch.

Prefer to request a guarantee through our website?

Save time and travel. You can request our technical guarantees for public administrations from the remote branch. Once your guarantee has been formalised, you can download it with an electronic signature or collect it with a handwritten signature at any Bankinter branch you choose.

Need to deposit a guarantee with an official body?

For guarantees presented to the Spanish Government Depositary and the regions of Castile-León, Madrid and Galicia, you can download the receipts from our remote branch.

We reply simply, fast and with full information:

Request it online

You can request guarantees online through our Remote Branch from the moment you have a guarantee facility. No need to travel or waste time.

Ready the same day

In 24 hours your digitally signed or electronically presented guarantees will be available on the website. If they require a handwritten signature, you can collect them the next business day at whichever branch you choose.

And you can “download” any guarantee from the website.

Even the ones you can't request through this channel, provided they are digitally signed. Ask about this option at your Bankinter branch.

We answer all your questions:

See What is a guarantee? What is a guarantee?

A guarantee is a bank transaction that guarantees the fulfilment of an obligation through a commitment by a third party, known as the guarantor. The guarantor declares that they are willing to meet the commitments made by the guarantor, if they fail to do so.

The bank guarantees the fulfilment of certain obligations contracted by customers with third parties. These generally involve the timely delivery of goods or services, with the amount of the guarantee corresponding to a certain percentage of their value. When the beneficiary demands payment of a guarantee, this is equivalent to claiming compensation for damage it has suffered.

Various obligations can be guaranteed. The most common are financial (such as tax payments and payments to suppliers) and technical (e.g. operation of equipment, successful completion of work, bidding in auctions and tendering processes).

Banks need to study guarantee transactions just like any other credit transaction. Guarantees involve risk, as the bank is required to make the commitment effective if the customer defaults on their obligations.

See Who is involved in a guarantee? Who is involved in a guarantee?

Three parties are involved:

  • The principal debtor/guaranteed party: a natural or legal person for whom the guarantee is provided (the customer).
  • Guarantor: the natural or legal person providing the guarantee (the bank).
  • Beneficiary: the person who would benefit from the guarantee, i.e. the person who would be paid.

See What types of guarantees are there? What types of guarantees are there?

Guarantees are classified using various criteria, most commonly:

Guarantees under the Banco de España definition

  • Technical guarantees: the credit institution is liable for its customer's commitments in the event of non-compliance with commitments arising from participation in tenders, auctions, performance of works or supply contracts, and before public bodies in general.
  • Financial: these guarantee payment in financial transactions in which the customer is a debtor. These include bills of exchange, promissory notes and similar commercial documents, and deferral of payment of taxes, penalties and other amounts due to the Public Administration and other bodies.

Guarantees according to the maturity term

  • Indefinite guarantees: the validity of the guarantee is not limited in time. They guarantee the fulfilment of the guaranteed obligations to the beneficiary-creditor while the obligations continue.
  • Fixed maturity guarantees: guarantee agreements that stipulate a specific, fixed maturity date (either due to statute of limitations or expiry). This means that when the term established in the guarantee has expired with no breach of the guaranteed obligation, the bank is from that moment released from guaranteeing the fulfilment of the customer's obligations. In other words, from the maturity date of the guarantee. the bank is released from the obligation in the guarantee, considering the provisions in the following paragraphs on the enforceability period, which differentiates between expiry and maturity.

Guarantees depending on their degree of enforceability

  • On-demand bonds: the financial institution responds to requests for payment of guaranteed amounts almost automatically, with no need for in depth examination of whether there are any reasons to dispute the payment, other than requiring the minimum supporting documents from the guaranteed party. For a guarantee to be considered an on-demand bond, the agreement must expressly state that it is an on-demand guarantee.
  • Guarantees not payable on demand: the financial institution can investigate the default before paying the amount demanded by the beneficiary. The bank usually requires the beneficiary to evidence non-payment with this type of guarantee.

Got a question?

The Bankinter Corporate help centre has the answer.