A new independent body to protect Spain's bank customers would have the power to impose sanctions on banks, Spanish newspaper El País reported Dec. 18.

Banks will also finance the body, which will deal with complaints against banks from mortgage holders and bank customers, the report said. Staff dealing with customer protection at Spain's three supervisory bodies — the Bank of Spain, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores market watchdog, and Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones, which oversees the insurance and pension fund market — will move to the new body, it said.

A recent Spanish parliamentary report into the financial crisis called for a review of Spain's three financial supervisory bodies to help prevent another financial crisis, but the report said the government had opted to leave supervisory conduct in the hands of the existing bodies.

The newspaper also said the economy minister would appoint the head of the new body for five years.