Spain's antitrust watchdog probes banks over mortgage practices

MADRID, June 16 (Reuters) - Spain's antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it was launching disciplinary proceedings against all six listed lenders in the country, including Santander and BBVA, for possible anti-competitive practices in the mortgage market.

The CNMC said it was probing whether certain executives had made public statements about their banks' future commercial policies, particularly regarding interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages.

"Such statements would have allowed entities in the sector to anticipate the future behaviour of their competitors," the regulator said in a statement.

The head of Spanish consumer association Asufin, Patricia Suarez, welcomed the investigation, saying that "when banks all act in virtually the same way, we end up paying more for our loans and receiving less on our savings".

Caixabank, Unicaja, Bankinter and Sabadell are also part of the probe. All of the banks declined to comment.

The probe comes at a time of fierce competition among Spanish lenders in the mortgage market. Some banking executives have warned of "irrational" practices to win over customers, with some rates falling below market prices.

Spanish mortgages are among the lowest in the euro zone, with an average rate of 2.81% as of April, compared with the euro zone average of 3.44%, data from the European Central Bank shows.

Spanish banks are, however, among those that pay the lowest rates on one-year deposits, 1.78% on average, which is below the average of 1.87% in the euro zone, 2.25% in Italy and 2.42% in the Netherlands.

Alejandra Kindelan, head of the Spanish banking association, said on Tuesday that the banks complied with the law and that Spain had the most competitive mortgage market in Europe.

The opening of the probe does not prejudge an outcome, the CNMC said. It has a 24-month deadline to reach a final decision.

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)