Credit cooperatives now account for 17.8% of the credit market in Extremadura, nearly doubling the national average. The Bank of Spain highlights their importance in the primary sector, with a share of 35%.
Extremadura's rural banks have doubled their business volume in the last decade, according to data from the Bank of Spain and the employers' association Unacc. These entities, which operate as credit cooperatives, have managed to maintain their presence in rural areas where traditional banks have drastically reduced their network of offices since the 2008 crisis.
In Extremadura, rural banks now hold 17.8% of the credit market, a percentage that nearly doubles the national average of 9.6%. In the province of Badajoz, they account for nearly one-fifth of the total (19.7%), while in Cáceres they reach 13.2%, according to the latest supervisory report from the Bank of Spain, corresponding to 2025.
The banking supervisor highlights that credit cooperatives are “very important actors for certain segments of our economy.” Specifically, it points out three aspects: the geographical, as they have a share exceeding 10% in many autonomous communities; the economic agents, with an average share of 28% in loans to self-employed individuals; and the sectoral, being “crucial for certain sectors of activity.”
One of those sectors is agriculture, which has a greater specific weight in Extremadura than in the rest of Spain. In the branches linked to the primary sector, cooperatives “are leaders with a 35% share of the credit market,” emphasizes the Bank of Spain.
The growth of these entities in the region has occurred in a context of strong contraction of the installed banking capacity. While the network of bank offices in Extremadura has been reduced to almost half since 2008, rural banks have increased their relative weight from 13% of the office network to over 30%.
The National Union of Credit Cooperatives (Unacc), the employers' association that groups most of the Spanish rural banks, has recently published its yearbook for 2025. The report confirms the sustained growth of these entities in the Extremaduran financial market, mainly driven by the two entities based in the region: Caja Rural de Extremadura and Cajalmendralejo.
Deposits and loans are the key indicators of financial activity. In the case of Extremadura's rural banks, both have experienced significant increases in the last decade, reflecting customer confidence and their ability to adapt to the needs of the local productive fabric.
For self-employed individuals and small businesses in the primary sector, these entities have become an indispensable financial ally. The 35% share in agricultural loans positions them as undisputed leaders in a key segment for the Extremaduran economy.
The Bank of Spain also highlights that credit cooperatives weathered the 2008 financial crisis relatively well, allowing them to maintain their commercial network and staff without the drastic adjustments faced by the rest of the sector. In Extremadura, this resilience has translated into greater territorial coverage, with offices in towns where other entities have disappeared.
Looking to the future, the trend suggests that Extremadura's rural banks will continue to gain weight in the regional market. Their focus on customer proximity and support for strategic sectors such as agriculture places them in a privileged position to continue growing.
You may also like
