WRITTEN QUESTION E-0473/02

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 February 2002)

Subject: Community-related aspects of savings banks

Savings banks are a highly important financial instrument in the European Union and the social and economic aspects of their activities tiesus of debate.

The recent complaint made to the European Union by a German private bank concerning the public aid given to savings banks and the way in which this can distort competition has highlighted the need to identify the public or private role to be played by savings banks and determine their position within the Union's financial framework.

Will the Commission say whether there has been a Community declaration of principle on savings banks in the various Member States, under what circumstances a savings bank is deemed to be public for European purposes and whether it feels the time is right to promote the introduction of a single set of rules as a framework for savings banks to pursue their business without interfering in the activities of private banking institutions?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(18 April 2002)

The European Banking Federation filed on 21 December 1999 a complaint with the Commission against the State guarantees Anstaltslast and Gewährträgerhaftung in favour of German public banks, amongst which German savings banks. On 8 May 2001, the Commission adopted a recommendation of appropriate measures in order to adapt this existing aid scheme to comply with the State aid rules of the EC Treaty, which the German government accepted on 18.7.2001.

The Member of the Commission responsible for Competition and representatives of the German government have subsequently agreed on further details regarding the implementation of the appropriate measures, in particular on transitional arrangements. This agreement formed the basis of an amendment to the Commission recommendation, adopted on 27 March 2002.

The Commission is convinced that the solution found provides for a future level playing field between private sector and public sector banks, including savings banks. The latter will be able to restructure their existing activities and organisation in view of the changed legal and economic environment.

The solution found does not threaten in any way the existence and commercial operations as such of savings banks in Germany nor other Member States. If Member States feel the need to attribute certain services of general economic interest or other public tasks to certain credit institutions like savings banks, they are free to do so in line with the requirements laid down in the EC Treaty, in particular in Article 86(2) EC.

The Commission refers in this context also to the following declaration adopted by the European Council on public credit institutions in Germany at its meeting in Amsterdam on 18 June 1997, which fully reflects the Commission's view, and which Luxembourg and Austria declared in the same document to be fully applicable to their respective credit institutions:

The Conference notes the Commission's opinion to the effect that the Community's existing competition rules allow services of general economic interest provided by public credit institutions existing in Germany and the facilities granted to them to compensate for the costs connected with such services to be taken into account in full. In this context, the way in which Germany enables local authorities to carry out their task of making available in their regions a comprehensive and efficient financial infrastructure is a matter for the organisation of that Member State. Such facilities may not adversely affect the conditions of competition to an extent beyond that required in order to perform these particular tasks and which is contrary to the interests of the Community.

The Commission therefore does not see the need for a further declaration of principle on savings banks nor the introduction of a single set of rules as a framework for their activities in the Common Market, which are already sufficiently addressed by the existing EC Treaty rules.