Crealsa - Risk and return review
Crealsa - Returns and loss rates
Crealsa – Platform statistics 2026
Crealsa – Pros & Cons
About Crealsa
What it is
Crealsa is a Valencia company that has bought invoices and promissory notes from Spanish small businesses since 2009, and since 2017 has let outside investors share in those deals. It funds each deal with its own money first and then offers investors a part of it.
By 31 March 2026, €746.85 million of the invoices it financed had fallen due. The investor side is small next to the business: investors' money in participation contracts was €2.69 million at the end of 2025, against €65.7 million of turnover.
How it works
The marketplace is open only to professional investors with a minimum ticket that the page does not state; it has been closed to new retail investors since November 2019. You apply through a contact form and then choose individual deals. On 31 October 2026 it showed 1,577 operations with 541 debtor companies and €10.39 million available, maturing in December 2026 and January 2027. The paper is short, typically about 70 days.
Returns
Live operations pay rates from 5.5% to 8.5%, mostly 7% or 8.5% (31 October 2026); the page does not say how the rates are expressed. Crealsa publishes no average or realised return for investors, and nothing on returns after losses or after the time money spends in a failed deal.
Losses and defaults
Crealsa publishes detailed loss figures by year in a workbook updated on 31 March 2026. Across all deals since 2009, 3.27% of the amount due was not paid on the due date (€24.45 million of €746.85 million). Of that, 72.2% was later recovered, 3.2% is still being chased and 24.5% was written off, which is 0.80% of the amount due. Assuming the insurer pays 90% of the written-off amount, investors' final loss is 0.08% (€599,697). The loss is calculated on that assumed payout, not on what insurers actually paid.
Recent years were weaker: deals from 2021 to 2023 had 3.1% to 5.6% unpaid on the due date and 1.25% to 1.85% written off before insurance; 2024 deals improved to 2.0% unpaid and 0.51% written off. Deals from 2025 are still being recovered.
What secures your money
Each deal is a short-term invoice or promissory note owed by a Spanish company. Crealsa says credit insurance pays 90% of the amount on deals that end up written off, so you carry the other 10%; since 2022 it has worked with the Spanish credit insurer Cesce on invoices up to €30,000. Before insurance, 72.2% of unpaid amounts have been recovered since 2009. But your contract is a participation agreement with Crealsa itself, not a claim on the invoice: your money sits on Crealsa's own balance sheet, not in a separate client account, so if Crealsa failed you would be an ordinary creditor. A failed deal can take about 14 months to reach the insurance payout, earning nothing meanwhile. There is no buyback or reserve fund.
Who runs it and its licence
Crealsa Investments Spain, S.A. (Valencia) holds no licence. Spain's regulator, the CNMV, names it on its published list of entities that have no authorisation or registration with the CNMV and may be raising funds (checked 31 October 2026). The CNMV says the list is not exhaustive and that being on it is not a finding that rules were broken; no sanction against Crealsa was found. Its 2025 accounts were audited by KPMG and show a profit of €802,494 and equity of €3.6 million. Public review score 4.4 out of 5 (August 2026), mostly from business customers rather than investors.
Fees
Crealsa publishes no fee schedule. It earns the difference between what it charges the businesses and the rate it passes on to investors, without saying how large that difference is.
Getting your money out
There is no secondary market, but most money comes back within weeks because the paper is short. If a debtor does not pay, the deal can stay in recovery for up to 360 days before it is written off, and the insurer then pays within about two months, so money can be stuck for about 14 months without interest.
Our view
Return: Medium — live deals pay up to 8.5%, and the deals do pay these rates, though no average return is published. Risk: Medium (higher means more risk) — Crealsa's own figures show very small final losses (0.08%), but the CNMV lists it among unauthorised entities and your money is a claim on Crealsa itself. Risk-return: Medium — the rates are actually paid and published losses are low; the regulator's listing remains the main concern.
Regulation
License / Regulation: No licence. Crealsa Investments Spain, S.A. is not authorised or registered by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), which includes it on its published list of other entities that may be raising funds without authorisation (checked 31 October 2026). The CNMV states the list is not exhaustive and inclusion is not a finding on compliance. No deposit guarantee or investor compensation scheme applies.
Functionality
For Investors
Useful Information
No. Crealsa holds no licence, and Spain's regulator CNMV lists it among entities without authorisation or registration that may be raising funds (checked 31 October 2026). The CNMV says the listing is not a finding of wrongdoing, and no sanction was found.
Crealsa itself. You sign a participation contract with Crealsa, and your money sits on its balance sheet, not in a separate client account; no payment institution is named.
The marketplace is for professional investors with a minimum ticket that Crealsa does not publish. It has been closed to new retail investors since November 2019.
Live deals pay 5.5% to 8.5% (October 2026); no average return is published. Since 2009, 3.27% of the amount due was unpaid on the due date, 0.80% was written off and, assuming a 90% insurance payout, investors lost 0.08%.
Each deal is an invoice or promissory note owed by a Spanish company, and credit insurance covers 90% of written-off amounts, according to Crealsa. You carry the other 10%. Your claim, however, is on Crealsa itself, so its own solvency matters most.
There is no secondary market, but most deals last about 70 days. If a debtor does not pay, money can be tied up for about 14 months, without interest, until the insurance pays.
No fee schedule is published. Crealsa keeps the difference between what businesses pay and the rate you receive, without saying how much.
If a debtor fails, Crealsa chases the debt and, after up to 360 days, the insurer pays 90% of what is written off. If Crealsa itself failed, you would be an ordinary creditor of Crealsa with no compensation scheme.
Crealsa does not say. Credit insurance usually pays when a debtor cannot or does not pay, and often not for disputed or fictitious invoices, so check the terms before investing.
