Spanish banks, unions agree on 11% wage increase over three years

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish banks and unions on Tuesday reached an agreement to raise wages of employees in the sector by 11% over the coming three years, banking association AEB said in a statement.

The agreement follows a series of strikes in March by banking employees that demanded pay rises they see as justified after big lenders such as Santander booked record profits last year.

The salary increase applicable this year will be 4.25%, 4.0% in 2025 and 2.75% in 2026, the association said.

Most of Spain's largest banks such as Santander, BBVA, Sabadell and Bankinter are members of the AEB.

Wages in the financial sector remained virtually unchanged in 2021-23 under a labour agreement signed with the unions.

While protests in the sector had in the past been mostly directed against staff cuts, attention has lately turned to wages.

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado, editing by Andrei Khalip)