Case C-298/22, Banco BPN/BIC Português and Others: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 29 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal da Concorrência, Regulação e Supervisão – Portugal) – Banco BPN/BIC Português SA and Others v Autoridade da Concorrência (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Adverse effect on competition – Prohibition of restrictive practices – Article 101 TFEU – Agreements between undertakings – Restriction of competition by object – Exchanges of information between credit institutions – Information concerning commercial conditions and production values – Strategic information)
Date: 2024-07-29
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: cartel, competition, control of restrictive practices, credit, credit institution, credit policy, exchange of information, inter-company agreement, restriction on competition, trade information








C_202405590EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/5590


30.9.2024






Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 29 July 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal da Concorrência, Regulação e Supervisão – Portugal) – Banco BPN/BIC Português SA and Others v Autoridade da Concorrência


(Case C-298/22,
                (1)
Banco BPN/BIC Português and Others)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Adverse effect on competition - Prohibition of restrictive practices - Article 101 TFEU - Agreements between undertakings - Restriction of competition by object - Exchanges of information between credit institutions - Information concerning commercial conditions and production values - Strategic information)
(C/2024/5590)
Language of the case: Portuguese

Referring court

Tribunal da Concorrência, Regulação e Supervisão

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Banco BPN/BIC Português SA, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Banco Português de Investimento SA (BPI), Banco Espírito Santo SA (in liquidation), Banco Santander Totta SA, Barclays Bank plc, Caixa Económica Montepio Geral – Caixa Económica Bancária SA, Caixa Geral de Depósitos SA, Unión de Créditos Inmobiliários SA, Establecimiento Financiero de Crédito, Caixa Central de Crédito Agrícola Mútuo CRL, Banco Comercial Português SA

Defendant: Autoridade da Concorrência

Intervening party: Ministério Público

Operative part of the judgment

Article 101(1) TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that a comprehensive and reciprocal monthly exchange of information between competing credit institutions, which took place in markets where concentration is high and there are barriers to entry, relating to the conditions applicable to transactions carried out on those markets, in particular current and future credit spreads and risk variables, and individual production figures of the participants in that exchange, in so far as, at the very least, the spreads thus exchanged are those which those institutions intend to apply in the future, must be classified as a restriction of competition by object.


(1)  
            OJ C 326, 29.8.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/5590/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)