Public Registers, Credit Records and Bills of Exchange in Spain

Property Registration

Registering property: This consists of a series of public offices under the Ministry of Justice. It records the various transactions that affect real estate. By consulting the registry, one can find out who owns a property and its legal situation.

Commercial Register

Commercial register: It reports to the Ministry of Justice. The law requires the establishment of a public register in which companies are recorded. Consulting the commercial register provides information about companies, the amount of capital, partners, corporate purpose, etc.

Central Credit Risk Information (Bank of Spain)

Risk Information (Bank of Spain): A public service run by the Bank of Spain that maintains a large database of most credit risks that financial institutions have with their customers.

Asnef Equifax

Asnef Equifax: A service that registers unpaid transactions for both individuals and corporations. Equifax collects and daily updates outstanding data provided by a large number of financial institutions, telecommunications companies, publishers, energy companies, etc.

Approvals Registry — Unpaid

Approvals registry (unpaid): This delinquent registry was managed by the corporate and interbank center and was exclusively maintained by various banks.

Bill of Exchange

Bill of exchange: A negotiable instrument whereby a person, called the drawer, orders another person, called the drawee, to pay a certain amount of money at the instrument's maturity to a third person, called the payee or holder.

Maturity Types

• Fixed date: The bill is due on the appointed day.
• Specified period after date: The bill matures after a specified period counted from the date of issue.
• At sight: Due when presented for payment; presentation must occur within one year after the drawing date. If the instrument does not indicate maturity, it is understood to be payable at sight.
• Specified period after presentation: If maturity is a period after presentation, it is determined by adding the prescribed period to the date of presentation or, failing that, to the date of the notarial protest or an equivalent statement of non-acceptance.

Endorsement

Endorsement: When the holder transfers ownership of the document to another person, who may in turn transfer it to another, and so on.

Aval (Guarantee)

Aval: A written guarantee on the bill by a third party who agrees to pay it. The aval can be general—guaranteeing payment to all persons involved in the instrument for all or part of the amount—or limited and personal.

Right of Recourse (Way Back)

Way back (right of recourse): When the bill of exchange has not been paid on the due dates, it is dishonored. This means the holder who misses the deadline may be unable to claim the amount from previous endorsers by ordinary collection actions after the prescribed time.

Protest: A formal act intended to prove that the holder of the document has complied in a timely manner with the obligation to present the bill for acceptance or payment, and that the person required to accept or pay the bill has failed to do so.