The essentials in brief:
- ES76 is not a bank: ES stands for Spain and 76 are the two check digits that validate the whole IBAN.
- Where the bank is: in the four digits that follow, the institution code; the next four identify the branch.
- Who assigns the code: the Banco de España, which publishes the registered institutions and their codes in its official register.
- Examples: 2100 is CaixaBank, 0049 is Banco Santander and 0182 is BBVA.
- Old codes: those of absorbed banks stay in the register with their successor, such as 0075, Banco Popular, which became part of 0049.
A client gives you their details to set up a direct debit and the IBAN starts with ES76. Another supplier writes to you with ES55 and a third with ES49. It looks like the bank should be there, but ES76 is not any bank: those two digits change from one account to the next and have nothing to do with the institution.
The bank does appear in the IBAN, just a little further to the right. It sits in the four digits after the check digits, and the Banco de España register shows which institution each code belongs to, including banks that no longer exist. Below you will find the full structure, the steps to read it and a table with the most common codes.
What ES76 means in an IBAN
According to the Banco de España, a Spanish IBAN has 24 characters: two country letters, two check digits and twenty numbers. In an IBAN starting with ES76, the letters ES identify Spain and the 76 is part of those two check digits, which, in the Banco de España’s own words, "serve to validate the whole IBAN". So the question of which bank ES76 is has no answer: the 76 is shared by accounts at very different institutions.
Those two digits are calculated from the rest of the number. To check them, the Banco de España technical document describes a fixed method: the first four characters are moved to the end, the letters are turned into numbers and the result is divided by 97; if the remainder is 1, the IBAN is correct. That is how a mistyped character is caught. The same goes for ES55, ES49 or ES95: they are check digits of other accounts, not bank codes.
The full structure of a Spanish IBAN
Looking at the whole IBAN position by position helps you keep its parts apart. The Banco de España describes it like this: two country letters, two IBAN check digits and twenty numbers, of which the first four are the institution and the next four the branch. Within those twenty numbers there are two more check digits, inherited from the old account number, before the last ten.
| Positions | What they show |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | Country: ES for Spain |
| 3 and 4 | IBAN check digits, like the 76 in ES76 |
| 5 to 8 | Institution code, assigned by the Banco de España |
| 9 to 12 | Branch |
| 13 and 14 | Account check digits |
| 15 to 24 | Account number |
Outside Spain the structure changes. The Banco de España points out that the IBAN can vary by country, although it never exceeds 34 characters: in France it has 27 and in Germany, 22. What does not change is the principle: the first two letters are the country and the next two digits are the check.
How to find the bank from an IBAN
To find the bank from an IBAN, all you need to do is count. After ES and the two check digits come twenty numbers, and the Banco de España explains that the first four of that block are the institution code. An example without real data: if an IBAN starts with ES76 2100, the bank is CaixaBank; if it starts with ES76 0182, it is BBVA. The 76 is the same in both cases, and what changes is the block that follows. To tell which bank an IBAN a client sent you belongs to, the process is this:
The first four positions, ES plus the check digits, say nothing about the bank. Start reading from the fifth position of the IBAN.
The first group of four numbers after the check digits is the institution code, assigned by the Banco de España. In an IBAN written in blocks, it is the second block.
Compare it with the table in this article or search for it in the Banco de España register of institutions, which accepts the institution’s registration code as a search term.
The next four digits identify the branch. After them come two more check digits and, at the end, the account number itself.
Institution codes of the main banks
The table lists the bank codes seen most often in Spanish IBANs, with the name under which each appears in the Banco de España register (register file dated 29 October 2026). It answers at a glance questions such as which bank 2100 or 0049 is. For any other code, the official register is the reference source.
| Institution code | Institution according to the Banco de España register |
|---|---|
| 2100 | CaixaBank, S.A. |
| 0049 | Banco Santander, S.A. |
| 0182 | Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) |
| 0081 | Banco de Sabadell, S.A. |
| 0128 | Bankinter, S.A. |
| 2080 | Abanca Corporación Bancaria, S.A. |
| 2085 | Ibercaja Banco, S.A. |
| 2103 | Unicaja Banco, S.A. |
| 0186 | Banco Mediolanum, S.A. |
| 1465 | ING Bank, N.V. Sucursal en España |
| 3025 | Caixa de Crèdit dels Enginyers (credit cooperative) |
One detail that helps to read the table: the register does not only list Spanish banks. Code 1465, for example, belongs to the Spanish branch of a credit institution from another EU country, which is why it appears under that name. Credit cooperatives, such as 3025, also have their own four-digit code.
Bank codes that no longer exist
Because of mergers in Spanish banking, some old IBANs carry codes that are no longer assigned to new accounts. The Banco de España register keeps those institutions with their deregistration date and the institution that absorbed them. If you are wondering which bank 0075 is, it was Banco Popular Español, deregistered on 26 September 2018 after its merger by absorption into Banco Santander, whose code is 0049.
There are more well-known examples. 2038 belonged to Bankia, deregistered on 26 March 2021 after its absorption by CaixaBank (2100), and 0030 to Banco Español de Crédito, Banesto, which was integrated into Banco Santander in 2013. If an old IBAN shows one of these codes, the register shows which institution took over its business. If the detail is years old, the sensible move is to ask the client or supplier to confirm their current IBAN before setting up a direct debit or sending a payment.
Worth knowing: the institution code says which bank or institution holds the account, not who the account holder is. To know whose name an account is in, the reference is the information given by the client or supplier themselves.
How to check that an IBAN is correct
Check digits have a very practical use for a business: they catch mistakes before money is sent. According to the Banco de España, they detect cases where a character has been left out, duplicated or mistyped. If a wrong digit slips in when you add a supplier, the IBAN fails validation and the error shows up before you pay.
The check follows the method set out in the Banco de España technical document. First, the first four characters, the country code and the check digits, are moved to the end. Next, the letters are replaced by numbers, with A as 10 and Z as 35. Finally, the resulting number is divided by 97: if the remainder is 1, the IBAN is well formed, although that does not confirm that the account exists or who holds it. The document itself illustrates it with a sample IBAN whose remainder is exactly 1. Accounting software and payment apps do this calculation on their own, but knowing it explains why ES76 is valid for one account and not for another.
The institution code in an IBAN
When people ask about the "entidad" in a Spanish account number, they mean those four digits. The Banco de España assigns the institution code to each institution, and it lets any transfer know which institution to go to before reaching the specific branch and account.
The Banco de España register of institutions holds the identification details of each one and lets you check who is authorised to operate and in which type of financial activity. In the search tool you can type the name, the Banco de España registration code or the identification document. Besides banks, it lists credit cooperatives, branches of foreign institutions and payment and e-money institutions.
For a business, this register is useful at specific moments: when a new supplier asks for the first payment, when a client gives you an account to set up direct debits, or when an IBAN shows a code you do not recognise. With the four digits you can look the institution up in the register and see whether it is a bank, the branch of a foreign institution or an e-money institution, and whether it is listed as a registered institution.
IBAN, BIC and account number
The IBAN identifies a specific account. The BIC, also called the SWIFT code, identifies the payee’s bank in an international transfer; according to the Banco de España, it complements the IBAN and within the SEPA area it no longer has to be given. That is why, for a euro transfer between SEPA countries, the IBAN is enough. The twenty numbers that follow ES and the check digits are, in practice, the old customer account code or CCC, the account number used in Spain before the IBAN.
Your Spanish IBAN with Vivid
Vivid Money S.A., Sucursal en España, is entered in the Banco de España register under number 6731, as the branch of an e-money institution from another EU country. With the Vivid business account you get unlimited Spanish IBANs on every plan, and whoever pays you will see that your account starts with ES, like any other Spanish account.
Client payments, taxes or each project can sit in a separate pocket, and each one gets its own IBAN. With sub-accounts with their own IBAN each flow of money has its own number, and the account confirmation you can download shows the IBAN, BIC, company name and address, exactly what a client or supplier usually asks for. On Vivid Business you will find the other products for companies and freelancers; the Free Start (companies) and Standard (freelancers) plans cost €0/month, and other fees depend on the plan.
Vivid in brief: every Vivid account and pocket carries its own IBAN starting with ES, with no limit on any plan. Vivid Money S.A., Sucursal en España, is entered in the Banco de España register under number 6731.
Spanish IBANs for your business
Your clients pay you to an IBAN starting with ES, and every pocket has its own. Open the Vivid business account online.
Frequently asked questions
Is ES76 a bank code?
No. ES is the code for Spain and 76 are the two IBAN check digits, used to validate it. The bank is identified by the four digits that come right after, the institution code assigned by the Banco de España.
Which bank is ES55, ES49 or ES95?
None in particular. As with ES76, the two numbers after ES are check digits and change from one account to the next. To find out the bank, look at the next four digits.
Which bank is 2100?
Institution code 2100 belongs to CaixaBank, S.A., according to the Banco de España register of institutions. Since 2021 it also includes the former Bankia, which had code 2038.
Which bank is 0182?
0182 is the code of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A., that is, BBVA. It takes positions 5 to 8 of the IBAN, right after ES and the two check digits.
Which bank is 0081?
Code 0081 belongs to Banco de Sabadell, S.A., according to the Banco de España register. If the IBAN shows another code, the table in this article or the official register tells you which institution it belongs to.
Which bank is 0049?
0049 is the code of Banco Santander, S.A. in the Banco de España register. It is also the institution that absorbed Banco Popular Español, whose code was 0075, and Banesto, with 0030.
Which bank is 1465?
1465 belongs to ING Bank, N.V. Sucursal en España. It is the Spanish branch of a credit institution from another EU country, which is why it appears under that name in the Banco de España register.
Which bank is 0128?
Code 0128 belongs to Bankinter, S.A., according to the Banco de España register of institutions. In an IBAN written in blocks, it is the second group of four digits.
Where can I look up the code of any institution?
In the Banco de España register of institutions. Its search tool accepts the institution’s name, its registration code or its identification document, and the register can also be downloaded as files with the registered institutions and their codes.
Does the IBAN show which branch the account was opened at?
In the Spanish structure, yes: after the institution code come four digits that identify the branch. Then come two more check digits and the account number.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal or financial advice. The institution codes and names come from the Banco de España register of institutions and may change through mergers, registrations and deregistrations; it is worth checking them in the official register. Vivid Money S.A. is an e-money institution authorised by the CSSF (Luxembourg); its branch in Spain is registered with the Banco de España under number 6731.
