5 Financial Services Jobs in Spain Most at Risk from AI and How to Adapt

Top 5 Financial Services Jobs in Spain Most at Risk from AI — And How to Adapt

Spain's financial services sector is seeing a major shift as AI adoption skyrockets. In 2025, over 85% of financial firms in Spain are applying AI, moving automation from pilot projects to full-scale use in banking and insurance. This trend is already visible with companies like MAPFRE automating claims to speed up settlements and cut manual work.

Roles focused on repetitive, rule-based tasks are most vulnerable. These include transaction processors, branch tellers, junior credit analysts, compliance clerks, and routine risk analysts. The key for professionals in these positions is to evolve by learning AI-aware workflows, governance, and oversight skills to work alongside automation instead of being replaced by it.

How We Identified the Most At-Risk Roles

We combined data from the Eurosystem and Spain-specific case studies to pinpoint which roles face the highest AI exposure. The European Central Bank’s research on AI labor impacts and sector adoption surveys helped identify the finance and insurance jobs most affected. We then cross-checked these findings with real examples from Spanish firms like MAPFRE and BBVA to focus on roles dominated by repetitive tasks.

Each role was scored based on how likely it is to be automated, how common it is in Spain, and how easily workers can transition into AI oversight or client-facing roles. This approach balances rigorous data with practical insights for actionable steps.

1. Transaction Processing Staff

Transaction processing teams handle vast volumes of repetitive, rule-driven tasks and are prime candidates for automation. Spain processed 763 million real-time transactions in 2023, with projections soaring to 2.8 billion by 2028 — a 30% year-on-year increase seen recently.

Automation, like MAPFRE’s claims processing, reduces manual settlement work and shifts the focus to handling exceptions machines cannot resolve. For transaction processors, the smart move is to upskill in AI workflow supervision, model validation, and exception management.

• 2023 Real-time transactions: 763 million
• 2028 Forecast: 2.8 billion
• Growth (2022–23): ~30%

2. Customer Service Agents and Branch Tellers

AI-powered conversational banking is already automating routine account tasks, reducing the need for traditional teller functions. BBVA’s virtual assistant Blue, launched in Spain in early 2025, handles thousands of queries and transactions, helping agents focus on complex issues.

As routine inquiries move to AI, frontline roles will shift to managing escalations, delivering empathetic customer service, and overseeing AI tools. Developing strong advisory and omnichannel problem-solving skills will turn potential displacement into an opportunity.

3. Junior Credit Analysts

Junior credit analysts face automation in rule-based credit scoring and underwriting. Automated systems now pull credit data, run checks, and approve loans in minutes. EU regulations also require stringent human oversight, documentation, and data governance for AI-driven credit decisions.

Junior analysts can avoid displacement by focusing on exception reviews, model validation, explainability, and audit management, becoming an indispensable part of the credit process.

4. Reporting & Regulatory Compliance Clerks

RegTech solutions are replacing manual regulatory reporting and KYC tasks with automated data integration and monitoring. Spain’s RegTech market is growing rapidly, with an expected 23.1% increase in 2024 to over US$350 million, and a forecasted rise to US$704 million by 2029.

Compliance clerks should pivot to roles involving exception triage, data quality control, regulatory mapping, and vendor governance. These functions require human judgment to supervise AI systems and explain edge cases to auditors.

• 2023 Market Size: US$285.02 million
• 2024 Market Size: US$350.73 million
• YoY Growth: 23.1%
• 2029 Forecast: US$704.46 million

5. Routine Risk Analysts

Risk analysts performing data entry and templated reporting are facing automation from AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation. These technologies continuously score portfolios, flag anomalies, and build audit trails, reducing manual workload and errors.

The best way forward for risk analysts is to develop skills in exception triage, model validation, explainability, and governance to audit AI outputs effectively.

How to Stay Relevant in Spain's Financial Sector

AI will add roughly 3% to Spain’s GDP growth over the next decade and complement many workers’ tasks. The solution isn’t resisting automation but reskilling. ECB surveys show workers using AI tools have a more positive outlook, proving that familiarity reduces fear and boosts prospects.

Financial professionals should prioritize learning AI literacy, prompt engineering, model oversight, and vendor governance. Structured programs like those found at Complete AI Training offer practical courses to build these skills in a few months.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which five financial jobs in Spain are most at risk from AI?
  Transaction processing staff, customer service agents and branch tellers, junior credit analysts, regulatory compliance clerks, and routine risk analysts.
• What evidence shows these roles are vulnerable?
  Over 85% of Spanish financial firms are applying AI in 2025, and transactional data shows a huge increase from 763 million real-time transactions in 2023 to an expected 2.8 billion by 2028.
• How can professionals adapt to avoid displacement?
  Upskill in AI workflows and governance, learn prompt engineering, and develop client-facing skills like empathy and advisory capabilities.
• What should firms and regulators do?
  Invest in AI vendor governance, human-in-the-loop controls, and training programs. Regulators are strengthening compliance and explainability requirements, making oversight skills essential.