The Second Chance program is no longer marginal; it's the new barometer of indebtedness in Spain.

For decades, personal insolvency was a virtually invisible reality in Spain. Going into debt beyond one's ability to pay didn't generate public statistics or significant economic debates: it was a private, silent, and, in many cases, perpetual problem. Entire families lived for years with foreclosures, accrued interest, and financial exclusion without a realistic way out. Today, however, that landscape is changing rapidly.

The growth in proceedings related to the Second Chance Law has become one of the clearest indicators of the financial deterioration of households, but also of a profound transformation of the Spanish economic, cultural, and legal framework. What was once considered an exceptional last resort is beginning to consolidate as a standardized tool for economic adjustment.

The data explains why this phenomenon is not temporary. In Spain, more than 20 million people have some type of active debt, and nearly six million individuals and self-employed workers are in a situation of real financial vulnerability, according to estimates based on official statistics from the National Statistics Institute (INE) and the Bank of Spain. However, only around 3% of this group has so far used the legal mechanisms for debt relief or restructuring. This enormous gap between potential need and actual use is key to understanding the current strong growth: it is not a statistical anomaly, but a long-postponed structural adjustment.

By 2026, the question will no longer be whether this mechanism will continue to grow, but whether Spain will be able to manage it with the efficiency of the most advanced European economies. Because, ultimately, personal insolvency is not just a legal problem: it is one of the most accurate indicators of the real economy and the financial health of a society that is finally beginning to address its debt structurally.