62019TO0481(03)_INF
Order of the General Court (Tenth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 17 January 2025 – Portigon v SRB (2019 ex ante contributions)
(Case T‑481/19)
(Economic and monetary union – Banking union – Single resolution mechanism for credit institutions and certain investment firms (SRM) – Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Decision of the SRB on the calculation of the 2019 ex ante contributions – Plea of illegality – Legal basis for Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 – Article 114 TFEU – Equal treatment – Commission’s discretion – SRB’s discretion – Duty to state reasons – Non-retroactivity – Action manifestly lacking any foundation in law)
1.
Approximation of laws – Measures intended to improve the functioning of the internal market in the field of finance – Regulations on the approximation of the provisions of the Member States concerning the resolution of institutions in the banking union – Regulation No 806/2014 –Directive 2014/59 – Power of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) to set the ex ante contributions and to manage the financial means of the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Legal basis – Article 114 TFEU
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014, recitals 1 to 4, 9, 12, 19 and 107 and Arts 67 and 76; European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/69, recitals 3 to 5, 9, 10, 103, 104 and 108 and Arts 100 and 101)
(see paragraphs 49, 50, 51, 57, 62-66)
2.
Economic and monetary policy – Economic policy – Single Resolution Mechanism for credit institutions and certain investment firms – Ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Nature – No fiscal nature – Insurance-based logic seeking to ensure the stability of the financial sector as a whole – Financing by the financial sector as a whole – Contributions directly set aside solely for the financing of expenditure of that sector which is necessary for the functioning of that sector – Legal basis – Article 114(2) TFEU
(Art. 114(2) TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014, Arts 67(2) and (4), 69 and 70; European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/59, recitals 3, 5, 103 and 105 to 107 and Arts 32 and 101 to 103)
(see paragraphs 70-75, 77-85)
3.
EU institutions – Exercise of powers – Power conferred on the Commission to adopt delegated acts – Scope – Complex assessments and evaluations – Broad discretion – Directive 2014/59 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms – Establishment of the criteria for adjusting ex ante contributions – Judicial review – Limits
(Art. 290 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014, recital 41; European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/59)
(see paragraphs 117, 119, 124, 125)
4.
Economic and monetary policy – Economic policy – Single Resolution Mechanism for credit institutions and certain investment firms – Single Resolution Board (SRB) – Powers – Determination by the SRB of additional risk indicators and sub-indicators for the adjustment of the calculation of the ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) according to the risk profile of the credit institutions – Alleged delegation of power from the Commission to the SRB – None – SRB’s broad discretion
(Art. 290(1) TFEU; Commission Regulation 2015/63, Arts 6(1)(d) and (5) to (7) and 7(4))
(see paragraphs 154, 157, 161, 165, 166, 169-173)
5.
Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Decision of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) establishing the ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Not necessary to include, in that decision, all figures necessary for verifying the accuracy of the calculation of the contributions – Weighing the obligation to state reasons against the general principle of protection of the business secrets of the institutions concerned – Legality of the provisions concerning the methodology for calculating the ex ante contributions to the SRF – Principle of non-disclosure of business secrets – Obligation for the SRB to publish or disclose to the institutions concerned, in collective and anonymised form, the information relating to the institutions that was used to calculate the ex ante contribution
(Art. 296, second para., TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014; Commission Regulation 2015/63, Arts 4 to 9; European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/59)
(see paragraphs 181-192)
6.
Economic and monetary policy – Economic policy – Single Resolution Mechanism for credit institutions and certain investment firms – Ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Exclusion of certain allegedly low-risk liabilities from calculation of those contributions – Exclusion of the fiduciary liabilities of a credit institution in that calculation – Not permissible
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014, Art. 70(2); Commission Regulation 2015/63, Art. 5(1)(e); European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/59, Art. 103(2) and (7))
(see paragraphs 204, 205, 304)
7.
Economic and monetary policy – Economic policy – Single Resolution Mechanism for credit institutions and certain investment firms – Ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Account taken of the fiduciary liabilities of a credit institution in the calculation of those contributions – Principle of including those liabilities in the balance sheet of the institution concerned – Possibility of derogation offered to Member States permitting institutions to disclose those liabilities off the balance sheet – Distortions of competition on account of those accounting differences between the different national laws – No such distortions
(Art. 114 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014, Art. 70(2), second subpara., point (b); European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/59, Art. 103(2); Council Directive 86/635, Art. 10(1))
(see paragraphs 211-214, 219-221)
8.
Economic and monetary policy – Economic policy – Single Resolution Mechanism for credit institutions and certain investment firms – Ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) – Credit institution undergoing restructuring – Increase in the adjusting multiplier of those contributions according to the risk profile of the institution concerned – Condition – Receipt by that institution of extraordinary public financial support – State aid granted to the institution concerned before the entry into force of the EU rules – Included
(Art. 107(1) TFEU; Commission Regulation 2015/63, Arts 3, first para., and 6(8)(a); European Parliament and Council Directive, Arts 2(1), point 28, and 103(7)(e))
(see paragraphs 338, 339, 341, 342, 353)
9.
Acts of the institutions – Temporal application – Non-retroactivity – Exceptions – Conditions – Accomplishment of an objective in the general interest and respect for legitimate expectations – Withdrawal of a decision of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) setting ex ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) in order to rectify a failure to state reasons – Adoption of a decision entering into force on the date that the earlier decision takes effect – No amendments to the amount and the calculation of those contributions – Account taken of the purpose of contributions to the SRF – Whether permissible
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 806/2014, Arts 2, 67(4), 69 and 70)
(see paragraphs 365, 367, 368)
Operative part
1.
The action is dismissed.
2.
Portigon AG shall bear its own costs and shall pay those incurred by the Single Resolution Board.
3.
The European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission shall bear their own costs.