One in four in Spain lend money to other family members.

ONE in four people in Spain has given money to relatives to help them during the recession, according to a study carried out by La Caixa.

Twenty-five per cent of people have lent money to relatives who do not live with them, to help them get over financial problems derived from buying a house, losing their job or their business going under.

The study analyses how intergenerational cooperation within families has increased due to lack of confidence in being able to obtain help and social services.

In 60 per cent of cases, it is parents who support their children, especially when they are under the age of 29, while only between seven and 11 per cent of people over 75 gets any help from their children.

The average person who has received help from relatives is a young person, living away from their parents, with a partner and children, and not necessarily lower class.

In 39 per cent of cases they have had to ask for help because they have lost their job or their business has fallen through, 17 per cent because of insufficient income, and seven per cent due to health problems or studies.

A third of those who have bought houses have got a loan with no interest or guaranties required, in 95 per cent of cases from their parents or in-laws.

Fifty-six per cent of people in Spain consider relatives should help financially or by looking after children or other relatives, household repairs, transport or paperwork.

The number of grandparents looking after their grandchildren on a regular basis has risen from 15 to 25 per cent in the past few years, and two in three families with children under three leave their children with relatives on holidays, weekends or when they are ill.