The Deposit Guarantee Fund is probably the most important financial protection you have — and one you've likely never thought about. If your bank fails, the fund returns up to €100,000 of your money. Here's exactly how it works and what it covers.
What Is the Deposit Guarantee Fund
The Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD in Spain) is a legally mandated mechanism that protects depositors in the event of bank failure. In Spain, the maximum coverage is €100,000 per depositor per institution.
This means if you have €100,000 at Banco Santander and it fails, the fund returns your full €100,000. If you have €200,000 at the same bank, you only recover half. If those €200,000 are split between two different banks, you're fully covered.
What Deposits Are Covered
- Current accounts and payment accounts
- Savings accounts and interest-bearing accounts
- Fixed-term deposits
- Registered certificates of deposit
Not covered: investment funds, shares, bonds, P2P platforms, cryptocurrencies and DeFi products.
All Licensed Banks Are Covered
All banks licensed to operate in Spain are members of the fund — including major national banks and digital banks with Spanish licenses. European banks accessible through Raisin are covered by their home country's fund — also up to €100,000 — under the EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD).
How Quickly Would You Get Your Money Back
Under EU rules, the maximum repayment period is 7 working days from the date a bank is declared unable to repay deposits.
How to Maximize Your Protection
- Spread across institutions: the limit is per bank, not per account
- Joint accounts: the limit is per holder — a joint account for two people has €200,000 coverage
- Raisin: access deposits at multiple European banks from one platform, with independent coverage per bank