This news comes just weeks after Caja Mediterraneo (CAM Bank), one of the largest providers of Non-resident mortgages in Spain, instructed some of its branches to accept no further Non-resident mortgage applications for the time being following a spate of false mortgage applications.

Heather Chambers, Director of International Mortgage Solutions Ltd (IMS), Spain’s largest Non-resident mortgage broker, said: “This is clearly a case of once-bitten-twice-shy for Banesto. It is sad that due to certain unscrupulous brokers supplying false paperwork to the banks in order to push through an application so they can earn their commission, the ethical buying public has to suffer. However, we must applaud this action as it should serve to prevent and dissuade both clients and the brokers involved repeating such practices in the future.

“It is a fact that as the Spanish mortgage market opens up and further flexibility is offered, including self-certification, the depth of the credit analysis undertaken has also increased. The Spanish banks are tightening up and at IMS we have noticed how pedantic they have become about documentation provided, and quite rightly so. Lenders will also now check liabilities and credit files back in the applicant’s country of residence, something that didn’t take place previously. Scottish Widows, part of the Lloyds TSB group, has taken the extra measure of registering a Non-resident loan granted in Spain back in the UK on the client’s credit file. The climate is certainly changing and those practitioners operating on the wrong side of the law will have to clean up or close down.”