El cotitular és a la sucursal bancària.

This is a very common question for English speakers.

In Catalan, ser can be used to express where someone or something is, especially in a neutral, factual way:

• El cotitular és a la sucursal bancària. = The joint account holder is at the bank branch.

In many contexts, estar is also possible, especially in everyday speech, but ser a is very normal and standard for simple location or presence.

A rough way to think about it:

• ser = neutral statement of where someone/something is
• estar = can sound a bit more focused on the person’s presence or situation there

So this sentence is not strange at all with és.

A la means at the or in the, depending on the context.

It is made of:

• a = at / to / in
• la = the, feminine singular

So:

• a la sucursal bancària = at the bank branch

Catalan often uses a where English might use at, to, or sometimes in.

Because sucursal is a feminine noun in Catalan.

That means it takes:

• la in the singular
• adjectives in the feminine form

So:

• la sucursal bancària

Even though English nouns do not have grammatical gender, Catalan nouns do. You simply have to learn each noun with its gender.

Because adjectives in Catalan usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Here:

• sucursal is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular: bancària

Compare:

• el servei bancari = the banking service
• la sucursal bancària = the bank branch

So bancària matches sucursal.

In Catalan, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• sucursal bancària literally follows the pattern branch banking
• but in natural English we say bank branch

This noun + adjective order is very common in Catalan:

• casa gran = big house
• cotxe nou = new car
• oficina central = main office

Some adjectives can go before the noun, but the most basic pattern is noun first, adjective second.

Cotitular is a noun meaning something like co-holder or joint holder, usually of a bank account, contract, or similar legal/financial item.

It is built from:

• co- = co-, joint-
• titular = holder, owner, title holder

So cotitular is someone who shares ownership or legal holding with another person.

In banking, it often refers to a joint account holder.

Catalan uses the definite article very naturally before nouns when referring to a specific person or role.

So:

• El cotitular = the joint holder / the co-holder

This is similar to English the, but Catalan tends to use articles in many contexts where English learners may hesitate.

Here it indicates a specific person already known in the context.

It is a very clear and correct way to say it, but it is not the only possible expression.

Sucursal bancària is a formal, precise phrase:

• sucursal = branch
• bancària = banking / bank-related

In everyday context, people might sometimes say simply la sucursal if it is already obvious that they are talking about a bank.

So:

• a la sucursal bancària = at the bank branch
• a la sucursal = at the branch

The stress falls on the last syllable: co-ti-tu-LAR.

That is because Catalan words ending in -ar are normally stressed on the last syllable unless an accent mark shows otherwise.

A helpful approximation for English speakers:

• cotitular ≈ coh-tee-too-LAR

Also:

• és has a clear open vowel sound and carries a written accent
• bancària has the stress on -cà- because of the accent mark: ban-CA-ri-a

Yes, Catalan word order can change, but the given sentence is the most straightforward neutral version.

Standard order:

• El cotitular és a la sucursal bancària.

You can move elements for emphasis in some contexts, for example:

• A la sucursal bancària hi és el cotitular.

That version is more marked and would usually be used for emphasis or contrast.

For learners, the basic subject + verb + place order is the safest choice.

In this sentence, English would most naturally say at the bank branch.

Catalan a covers several meanings that English splits into different prepositions:

• at
• to
• sometimes in

So és a la sucursal bancària is best understood here as:

• is at the bank branch

Depending on context, English might sometimes choose in, but at is the most natural translation for this sentence.