Financial institutions

ES_BDE_C602_P279

Law 7/2020, of 13 November, for the digital transformation of the financial system (hereinafter, Law 7/2020), regulates a controlled testing space (also known as sandbox) allowing innovative technological projects applicable to the financial system to be conducted. The above-mentioned law assigns to the Banco de España (alongside with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and the Directorate General for Insurance and Pension Funds (DGSFP)) a supervisory role for projects within its remit. The Banco de España tasks in the controlled testing space consist, among others, of:

• To undertake the evaluation in accordance with the article 7.2 of Law 7/2020 of the projects for which it has been designated as competent.
• To sign a test protocol with the sponsor or sponsors of the projects which have obtained preliminary favourable evaluation.
• To approve the single information document model.
• To acknowledge the sponsor’s statement of compliance certifying that it has obtained the informed consent of the participants and that it has activated the system of guarantees and compensation foreseen.
• To designate one or more monitors to supervise the tests included in the pilot project.
• To receive the report drafted by the sponsor after the tests.
• To examine the tests’ outcomes and draw up a document with conclusions on their development and results.

Any natural or legal person, individually or jointly with others, including technological companies, financial entities, credit administrators, interest representative organisations, public or private centres of research and any other interested party who has applied for a project to enter the sandbox and has obtained a favourable preliminary evaluation of the project by the Banco de España (either alone or jointly with CNMV or DGSFP).

Electronically:

Submit the required documentation through the Electronic Registry of the Banco de España, available under the heading “Processing.”

Instructions:

1. Access the Electronic Registry using one of the authentication systems admitted by the Banco de España.
2. Select the option “Complete form” and then choose the applicable option.
3. Complete the requested data and, where applicable, attach the necessary documentation.
4. Once all the data is completed and the necessary documentation attached, click “Send”.
5. The Electronic Registry displays a screen with the information on the status of the request. If the request has been sent successfully, you can access the document “Acknowledgement of receipt”. You may save and/or print this document as a record of the submission.
6. You can use the “See my submissions via the Electronic Registry” option at any time to check the status of submissions completed successfully.

For more information, please see the “Guide to the Electronic Registry: Requirements and Instructions” available in the section “Other useful information.”

Filling by post:

The documentation required in this process shall be addressed to:

Banco de España
Dirección General Adjunta de Pagos e Infraestructuras de Mercado
División de Innovación Financiera
Unidad de Nuevas Tecnologías
Calle Alcalá, 48
28014 Madrid

In person:

The documentation required in this process may be submitted at the General Registry of the Banco de España, calle Alcalá 48, Madrid or at any of its branches offices, addressed to the Dirección General Adjunta de Pagos e Infraestructuras de Mercado, División de Innovación Financiera, Unidad de Nuevas Tecnologías.

A list of the branches offices is available in the “Other useful information” section.

The documentation to be submitted shall be the corresponding to each case depending on the project and the specific stage of the project, in accordance, where applicable, with the indications of the Banco de España. As an example, the documents to be submitted may be:

• The responses to requests for information or rectification notified by the supervisory authority through formal means.
• The final test protocol signed by the sponsor.
• The single information document’s model.
• The sponsor’s statement of compliance certifying that it has obtained the informed consent of the participants and that it has activated the system of guarantees and compensation foreseen.
• The sponsor's request for the discontinuation of the tests.
• The report with the results foreseen in the article 17.1 of the Law 7/2020 drafted by the sponsor once the tests are completed.

Other channels for the exchange of other documents (those of lesser relevance or more informal) are foreseen. These will be the ones indicated by the Banco de España to the sponsors of each project.

For any question regarding the documentation to be submitted, please use the contact form provided in the “Contact us” section.

Nevertheless, the requirements applicable in each case as foreseen in Law 39/2015 must be observed, and, particularly, in terms of the identification and signature of the interested parties, the accreditation of representation and the minimum content of the applications made.

To be determined depending on the situation of each project.

To be determined depending on the situation of each project.