Around 60,000 bank employees across Spain began a strike on Friday to demand wage increases they believe are justified after large entities such as Santander posted record profits last year.

According to the Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) union, 75.8% of the country's nearly 80,000 bank employees took part in the strike.

The main unions are now demanding a minimum wage increase of 13% over a three-year period starting in 2024, less than the 17% to 23% increase they previously demanded.

The Spanish banking employers' association AEB has offered a cumulative increase of 8.25%, according to CCOO.

The AEB has regretted in a statement the strike and the inconvenience it may cause, without providing figures for participation in the action.

"We express our respect to the convening union organizations, as well as the best disposition to try to find the necessary meeting points that will allow us to reach an agreement in the next meetings (with the unions)," it said.

Spanish banks agreed to raise employees' salaries by 4.5% in 2023 over 2022, but that only partially compensated for the loss of purchasing power caused by strong inflation.

While in the past protests in the sector have been directed mainly against job cuts, now the focus is shifting to wages.

Recent bank profits have been boosted by rising interest rates and more expensive mortgages, while interest rates for savers have been maintained.

(Report by Jesús Aguado; edited in Spanish by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)