Spanish non-financial corporates’ balance sheets: Asset growth and deleveraging in the euro era
Non-financial corporation
Fecha: julio 2025
Vicente Salas Fumás
SEFO, Spanish and International Economic & Financial Outlook, V. 14 N.º4 (July 2025)
The financial evolution of Spain’s non-financial corporations (NFCs) over the first quarter-century of euro membership reveals a marked transition from aggressive debt-financed expansion to cautious, equity-supported consolidation. Using original estimates based on Eurostat and national accounts data, this paper constructs a consolidated balance sheet for Spain’s NFC sector from 2000 to 2024, tracking changes in the composition of assets (operating vs. financial) and liabilities (debt vs. equity). While total assets tripled in current euros and doubled in real terms over the period, the growth was uneven, concentrated largely before the 2008 financial crisis and slowing afterwards. Financial assets increased rapidly in the early years but have remained steady at around 40% of total assets since 2010. On the liabilities side, a dramatic pre-crisis surge in bank debt reversed post-2009, with the leverage ratio falling from a peak of 65.3% to 35% by 2024 and bank credit declining to just 16% of total liabilities. The shift reflects a deeper structural change: since the crisis, retained earnings have persistently exceeded gross capital formation, enabling deleveraging and a net lending position. A simple regression confirms that while asset growth drives demand for external funds, strong internal financing capacity reduces reliance on debt, especially bank credit. The recent stagnation in asset accumulation cannot be attributed to credit constraints but rather suggests waning investment appetite, despite a financially healthier corporate sector.