Caixa or Openbank: 4,300 euros separate the mortgage from the ATM

Paying 4,300 euros for an ATM and your father's peace of mind

How much is it worth having a branch you'll never set foot in? That's the question anyone comparing a fixed-rate mortgage from an online bank with one from a traditional lender ends up asking. The specific case: a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, two offers on the table and a gap of between 5,000 and 6,000 euros in interest in favour of the digital bank, according to the forum poster's own calculations. In the end, the scales tipped towards the branch, and the saving shrank to 4,300 euros after renegotiating.

The starting conditions were almost identical on the nominal rate: 2.20% fixed for 30 years in both cases. The difference lay in the strings attached. Openbank required nothing. CaixaBank's La Caixa required life and home insurance with the bank for four years, with the interest rate rising to 2.55% if you dropped them. That's where the spreadsheet starts to smoke.

The life insurance nobody needs at 35

One of the arguments that weighed most heavily in the comparison was the real cost of the tied products. The bank's life insurance worked out at 37 euros a month for half the capital, with the warning that the premium rises with age. For a single applicant with no dependants, the product is pure expense with no return, in his view. Home insurance, on the other hand, is required by the contract, though outside the bank it's usually cheaper and with adjustable coverage.

The fine print matters more than the rate. Some warn that if the life insurance premium is charged upfront and rolled into the financed capital, the cost multiplies: you pay interest on the insurance for years. And the mandatory home insurance can be limited to fire coverage, without needing to take out a full multi-risk policy with the bank.

The branch that no longer exists

The great emotional argument was the branch network. But the experience of long-time customers points the other way: branches are closing. One case mentioned in the comparison involved two branches shut down, the original one and the neighbourhood one, with the assigned account manager in another province. Face-to-face service has become a scarce commodity even when you're paying for it.

Against that, digital banking offers what you actually use: Santander and La Caixa ATMs, instant transfers and app-based management. For the serious mortgage operations —early repayments, transfers between lenders, modifications— the counter window solves nothing: everything is handled by central services, according to several participants.

The dad factor

The decisive variable wasn't financial. It was domestic. An old-school parent, used to the passbook and depositing at the counter, refused to bank with an institution without physical branches. A middle-ground solution existed: keep the account at La Caixa for family transfers and sign the mortgage with the digital bank. It costs a minute of transferring and doesn't force you to pay 4,300 euros extra.

The final decision went the other way. La Caixa kept the loan after shaving the mandatory insurance from four years to three. The lost saving: 4,300 euros. In exchange, a wider ATM network, a branch for emergencies and a father who sleeps soundly. The payroll account, mind you, still carries a maintenance fee if no direct deposits come in.

In the end, the cheapest mortgage doesn't always win. Sometimes the winner is the one that avoids a family row.