natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
With regard to the subscription price for the shares issued by Dexia under the recapitalisation operation, the Belgian authorities emphasise that the price of EUR 9,9 per share, which corresponds to the average price in the thirty days preceding the operation, was set in accordance with the provisions of Article 598 of the Belgian Companies Code.
Kar zadeva vpisno ceno delnic, ki jih je Dexia izdala v okviru dokapitalizacije, belgijski organi poudarjajo, da je bila cena 9,9 EUR na delnico, kar ustreza povprečnemu tečaju tridesetih dni pred transakcijo, določena v skladu z določbami člena 598 belgijskega zakonika o gospodarskih družbah.
The latter specifies that in the case of a capital increase against cash contribution reserved to one or more specific persons, the issue price of the new shares may be no lower than the average price of the thirty days preceding the operation.
V njem je namreč podrobno določeno, da ob povečanju kapitala z gotovino, ki je na voljo samo eni ali več določenim osebam, cena izdaje novih delnic ne sme preseči povprečja tečajev tridesetih dni pred transakcijo.
The price of the shares issued under the Dexia recapitalisation operation was therefore set in accordance with binding legal obligations for the parties involved.
Cena delnic, izdanih v okviru dokapitalizacije skupine Dexia, je bila torej določena v skladu z zakonskimi obveznostmi, ki so veljale za udeležene stranke.
Secondly, the Belgian authorities stress that the complainant calls into question the need for recapitalisation on the grounds that Dexia was experiencing a liquidity crisis, and not a solvency crisis, and that the recapitalisation would result only in increasing Dexia’s Tier 1 capital to a level in excess of that of comparable European banks.
Po drugi strani belgijski organi poudarjajo, da pritožnik izpodbija nujnost dokapitalizacije z obrazložitvijo, da je Dexia prebrodila likvidnostne težave, ne pa težave s plačilno sposobnostjo in da naj bi se z dokapitalizacijo samo povečali viri lastnih sredstev temeljnega kapitala prvega reda skupine Dexia, tako da bi presegli raven primerljivih evropskih bank.
However, according to the Belgian authorities, these allegations do not take account of Dexia’s solvency requirements at the end of September 2008, as resulted from the higher risks and foreseeable losses in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2008 imputable to the group’s exposures to various institutions which were bankrupt or in difficulties (Lehman Brothers, Depfa, Bradford & Bingley, Irish and Icelandic banks), expected losses from FSA exposures and a large number of asset impairments linked to the downgrading of the ratings of various credit enhancement institutions which had guaranteed securities held by Dexia.
Vendar se po navedbah belgijskih organov pri teh trditvah ne upoštevajo potrebe, povezane s plačilno sposobnostjo skupine Dexia, konec septembra 2008, ki so bile posledica povečanja tveganj in izgub v tretjem in četrtem četrtletju leta 2008 zaradi izpostavljenosti skupine različnim ustanovam v stečaju ali težavah (Lehman Brothers, Depfa, Bradford & Bingley, irske in islandske banke), pričakovanih izgub zaradi izpostavljenosti družbe FSA ter precejšnje slabitve sredstev zaradi znižanja bonitetnih ocen več ustanov za izboljšanje kreditne kvalitete, ki so jamčile za vrednostne papirje skupine Dexia.
Finally, with regard to the distortions of competition caused by the aid measures in favour of Dexia, the Belgian authorities stress that the ad hoc interventions by the Belgian State in favour of Dexia were justified to avoid a systemic crisis and do not differ, in this respect, from interventions by other Member States authorised by the Commission under Article 107(3)(b) TFEU.
Nazadnje, kar zadeva izkrivljanje konkurence zaradi ukrepov pomoči za skupino Dexia, belgijski organi poudarjajo, da so bile ad hoc pomoči države Belgije za skupino Dexia upravičene zaradi preprečitve sistemske krize in da se v zvezi s tem ne razlikujejo od pomoči drugih držav članic, ki jih je Komisija odobrila na podlagi člena 107(3)(b) PDEU.
Moreover, as regards rates applied by Dexia to customer deposits, the Belgian authorities provided a note by Dexia comparing the rates applied by Dexia with those applied by its competitors for the same type of services offered on the Belgian market (ING, Deutsche Bank, Fortis, Axa, Citibank, Rabobank and KBC).
Glede tarif, ki jih je Dexia uporabljala za depozite strank, so belgijski organi predložili tudi zabeležko skupine Dexia s primerjavo med tarifami skupine Dexia in tarifami, ki jih za isto vrsto storitev na belgijskem trgu uporabljajo njeni konkurenti (ING, Deutsche Bank, Fortis, Axa, Citibank, Rabobank in KBC).
This means that the rates applied by Dexia seem to be line with those of its competitors.
Tarife, ki jih uporablja Dexia, se tako zdijo usklajene s tarifami teh konkurentov.
In the same note, Dexia also stresses that these rates, referred to in the complaint, cover only the deposits received by Internet, which represent only a small proportion ([10-15] %) of customer deposits as a whole.
V isti zabeležki Dexia še poudarja, da tarife, na katere se nanaša pritožba, veljajo samo za depozite, prejete prek spleta, ti pa pomenijo samo majhen delež ([10–15] %) vseh depozitov strank.
In this way, the Belgian authorities consider, contrary to the arguments set out in the complaint, that the aid measures in favour of Dexia are compatible with the internal market on the basis of Article 107(3)(b) TFEU.
Belgijski organi tako v nasprotju s trditvami iz pritožbe menijo, da so ukrepi pomoči za skupino Dexia združljivi z notranjim trgom na podlagi člena 107(3)(b) PDEU.
OBSERVATIONS BY THE MEMBER STATES ON THE OPENING OF THE PROCEDURE
PRIPOMBE DRŽAV ČLANIC GLEDE SPROŽITVE POSTOPKA
CLASSIFICATION OF THE MEASURES NOTIFIED AS AID
OPREDELITEV PRIGLAŠENIH UKREPOV ZA POMOČ
The capital increase
Dokapitalizacija
In their observations, the Member States concerned consider, firstly, that the Dexia shares subscribed to by its historic shareholders (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, ‘CDC’, CNP Assurances, Holding Communal, Ethias and Arcofin) under the recapitalisation operation do not contain any State aid elements.
Zadevne države članice v pripombah menijo, da delnice skupine Dexia, ki so jih njeni glavni delničarji (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, v nadaljnjem besedilu: CDC, CNP Assurances, Holding Communal, Ethias in Arcofin) vpisali v okviru dokapitalizacije, ne vključujejo nobenega elementa državne pomoči.
The Member States concerned recall that these institutions jointly committed to Dexia via a shareholders’ pact concluded in the form of an agreement under private law on 28 August 2007.
Zadevne države članice namreč opozarjajo, da so ta podjetja skupaj investirala v skupino Dexia prek delničarskega sporazuma, sklenjenega v okviru pogodbe z dne 28. avgusta 2007, za katero se uporablja zasebno pravo.
In order to safeguard the interests of this block of shareholders, it was essential for each of them to participate in the capital increase.
Da bi zaščitili interese te skupine delničarjev, je bilo torej nujno, da vsak od njih sodeluje pri dokapitalizaciji.
Moreover, in view of the urgency of the recapitalisation operation, it was logical for Dexia to turn to its reference shareholders as a priority to undertake this operation.
Poleg tega je bilo zaradi nujnosti dokapitalizacije logično, da se je Dexia v ta namen prednostno obrnila na svoje večinske delničarje.
The Member States concerned emphasised that they had played no part in the decision by CDC, CNP Assurances, Holding Communal, Ethias and Arcofin to participate in the capital increase which, furthermore, in the case of Arcofin and Ethias, was not financed through State resources.
Zadevne države članice so poudarile, da družbam CDC, CNP Assurances, Holding Communal, Ethias in Arcofin ni mogoče očitati odločitve za sodelovanje pri dokapitalizaciji in da ta v primeru družb Arcofin in Ethias ni bila financirana z državnimi sredstvi.
The LA operation
Ukrep likvidnostne pomoči
Moreover, the Belgian authorities consider that the LA provided to Dexia by the BNB, in cooperation with the Banque de France, is not State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU on the grounds that LA operations come under the normal tasks of national central banks and, in particular, their role to contribute to the stability of the financial system as lender of last resort in the case of temporary liquidity problems of an otherwise solvent bank.
Belgijski organi še menijo, da ukrep likvidnostne pomoči, ki jo je skupini Dexia dodelila banka BNB, v sodelovanju z Banque de France, ne pomeni državne pomoči v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU, ker ukrepi likvidnostne pomoči spadajo med običajne naloge nacionalnih centralnih bank, med katerimi je zlasti ta, da prispevajo k stabilnosti finančnega sistema kot posojilodajalci v sili v primeru začasnih likvidnostnih težav banke, ki je sicer plačilno sposobna.
In fact:
Namreč:
at the time when the LA operation was put into place, the financial authorities confirmed that they had no reason to think that Dexia was insolvent,
ob uvedbi ukrepa likvidnostne pomoči so finančni organi potrdili, da nimajo razloga, da bi skupino Dexia šteli za plačilno nesposobno,
the granting of LA was guaranteed by adequate collateral supplied by Dexia, to which the BNB and the Banque de France applied substantial safety margins (‘haircuts’), depending on the quality of this collateral,
dodelitev likvidnostne pomoči je bila zavarovana z zadostnimi jamstvi, ki jih je zagotovila Dexia ter za katera sta BNB in Banque de France uporabili visoke varnostne rezerve (haircut), odvisne od kakovosti teh jamstev,
the LA was granted at penalising, and even prohibitive, interest rates,
likvidnostna pomoč je bila dodeljena po neugodnih ali celo previsokih obrestnih merah,
the BNB and the Banque de France at all times took totally autonomous and discretionary decisions on granting LA, on extending it and on the sums lent in this context,
BNB in Banque de France sta vseskozi popolnoma neodvisno in popolnoma po lastni presoji odločali o dodelitvi likvidnostne pomoči, njenem podaljšanju in zneskih s tem povezanih posojil,
granting LA is a temporary measure: the credits granted under the LA operation are limited to one day (‘overnight’), renewable in accordance with a decision taken by the lending central bank.
dodelitev likvidnostne pomoči je začasen ukrep: posojila, dodeljena v okviru ukrepa likvidnostne pomoči, so omejena na 1 dan (posojila čez noč), obnoviti pa jih je mogoče na podlagi odločitve centralne banke posojilodajalke.
In addition, the Belgian authorities stress that the LA provided to Dexia was approved by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (‘ECB’) (up to a maximum amount of EUR […] billion).
Belgijski organi še poudarjajo, da je ukrep likvidnostne pomoči za skupino Dexia odobril Svet Evropske centralne banke (v nadaljnjem besedilu: ECB) (v višini največ […] milijard EUR).
Classifying the LA operation as State aid would make it incompatible with the principle of the prohibition of monetary financing enshrined in Article 123 TFEU.
Če bi se ukrep likvidnostne pomoči štel za državno pomoč, bi bil nezdružljiv z načelom prepovedi denarnega financiranja, določenim v členu 123 PDEU.
In fact, by virtue of this principle, it is legally impossible to attribute to a Member State the actions laid down by a national central bank when performing its tasks, provided that the central bank in question respects the conditions laid down for the performance of this task by the ECB.
V skladu s tem načelom je namreč pravno nemogoče, da bi se državi članici pripisala ravnanja nacionalne centralne banke med izvajanjem njenih nalog, če ta centralna banka upošteva pogoje, ki jih je v zvezi z izvajanjem te naloge naložila ECB.
The LA provided to Dexia fulfils all the conditions imposed by the ECB.
Ukrep likvidnostne pomoči, dodeljene skupini Dexia, pa izpolnjuje vse pogoje, ki jih je naložila ECB.
In particular, it meets the requirement that decisions by the national central bank(s) concerned on the provision of LA must be entirely independent and discretionary.
Izpolnjuje zlasti zahtevo, da mora likvidnostno pomoč popolnoma neodvisno in po lastni presoji zagotoviti ena ali več zadevnih nacionalnih centralnih bank.
According to the Belgian authorities, the mere fact that any LA provided by the BNB automatically benefits from the guarantee of the Belgian State makes no difference to this conclusion.
Po navedbah belgijskih organov te ugotovitve ne more spremeniti dejstvo, da za vso likvidnostno pomoč, ki jo dodeli BNB, samodejno velja jamstvo države Belgije.
Firstly, at the time when the BNB Executive Committee, entirely independently, took the decision to provide LA to Dexia, the State guarantee did not exist.
Prvič, ko je upravni odbor banke BNB popolnoma neodvisno odločil o dodelitvi likvidnostne pomoči družbi Dexia, jamstvo države ni obstajalo.
Consequently, this could not be taken into account when the decision was taken.
Torej se pri sprejetju odločitve ni moglo upoštevati.
Above all, the fact that the Belgian legislator came to provide for an explicit guarantee of the Belgian State for these operations – without any link to the Dexia file – whereas this is not always the case in other Member States, results from the specific nature of the shareholders of the BNB, which is a listed company with private shareholders, whereas the other national central banks generally speaking do not have private shareholders.
Predvsem dejstvo, da je moral belgijski zakonodajalec določiti izrecno jamstvo države Belgije za te ukrepe – ne da bi bilo to povezano z zadevo Dexia – medtem ko v drugih državah ni vedno tako, izhaja iz posebnosti lastniške strukture banke BNB kot družbe, ki kotira na borzi in ima zasebne delničarje, medtem ko druge nacionalne centralne banke po navadi nimajo zasebnih delničarjev.
This guarantee is consequently an integral part of the Statute of the BNB and its purpose is to allow the BNB to perform its task of lender of last resort.
To jamstvo je torej sestavni del temeljnega statuta banke BNB, da ta lahko izpolni nalogo posojilodajalca v sili.
Such an explicit guarantee is not necessary in the case of other central banks, which are fully owned by their respective State.
Tako izrecno jamstvo ni nujno v primeru drugih centralnih bank, ki so v 100-odstotni lasti zadevne države.
Express provision has been made for the automaticity of the State guarantee in order to ensure that the LA operations of the BNB do in fact conform to the principles of prohibition of monetary financing and in this way meet the criteria of the Commission’s decision-making practice as set out, in particular, in its Northern Rock decision [24].
Samodejnost državnega jamstva je bila izrecno določena z namenom, da se zagotovi, da se z ukrepi likvidnostne pomoči banke BNB upoštevajo načela prepovedi denarnega financiranja in se tako izpolnijo merila prakse odločanja Komisije, kot so med drugim določena v odločitvi v zadevi Northern Rock [24].
The Belgian authorities finally emphasise that if the Commission were nevertheless to consider the LA operation to be State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, the amount of aid would have to be calculated on the basis of the difference between the rate applied and the reference rate referred to in the Commission Communication on the revision of the method for setting the reference and discount rates (‘Reference Rates Communication’) [25].
Belgijski organi nazadnje poudarjajo, da, če bi morala Komisija ukrep likvidnostne pomoči kljub temu šteti za državno pomoč v smislu člena 107(1) PDEU, bi bilo treba znesek pomoči izračunati na podlagi razlike med uporabljeno obrestno mero in referenčno obrestno mero iz Sporočila Komisije o spremembi metode določanja referenčnih obrestnih mer in diskontnih stopenj (v nadaljnjem besedilu: Sporočilo o referenčnih obrestnih merah) [25].
In addition, the amount of aid should in any case be limited to half the total amount of the LA, corresponding to the amount in fact granted to Dexia by the BNB, the other half having been granted on behalf and at the risk of the Banque de France.
Poleg tega bi moral biti znesek pomoči vsekakor omejen na polovico skupnega zneska likvidnostne pomoči, kar je enako znesku, ki ga je banka BNB dejansko dodelila družbi Dexia, saj je bila druga polovica dodeljena za račun in na odgovornost Banque de France.
The latter does not benefit from any explicit guarantee on the part of the French State and the guarantee of the Belgian State obviously cannot apply to an operation carried out on behalf and at the risk of a foreign central bank.
Vendar zanjo ne velja nobeno izrecno jamstvo države Francije, jamstva države Belgije pa seveda ni mogoče uporabiti za ukrep za račun in na odgovornost tuje centralne banke.
The FSA measure
Ukrep za družbo FSA
The authorities of the Member States concerned consider it to be very unlikely that calls will be made on the guarantee granted by the Belgian and French States on the assets of FSAM: the USD 4,5 billion threshold, which is the cap for the exposure to first losses borne by Dexia, is higher than the most pessimistic scenarios for the economic losses on the portfolio.
Po mnenju organov zadevnih držav članic je verjetnost, da bi se jamstvo, ki sta ga državi Belgija in Francija dodelili za premoženje družbe FSAM, dejansko uveljavilo, majhna: prag 4,5 milijarde USD, ki je zgornja meja za tveganje prvih izgub skupine Dexia, je namreč višji kot po najbolj pesimističnih scenarijih gospodarskih izgub portfelja.
Consequently, the volume of any aid by the States should be considered to be zero even in a pessimistic scenario.
Zato naj bi se znesek morebitne pomoči držav celo po pesimističnem scenariju štel za ničnega.
COMPATIBILITY OF THE MEASURES NOTIFIED
ZDRUŽLJIVOST PRIGLAŠENIH UKREPOV
First of all, the Member States concerned pointed out to the Commission that, in their opinion, the FSA measure does not come within the scope of the Commission Communication on the treatment of impaired assets in the Community banking sector [26] (‘the Impaired Assets Communication’) on the grounds that:
Prvič, zadevne države članice Komisijo opozarjajo, da ukrep za družbo FSA po njihovem mnenju ne spada na področje uporabe Sporočila Komisije o obravnavanju oslabljenih sredstev v bančnem sektorju Skupnosti [26] (v nadaljnjem besedilu: Sporočilo o oslabljenih sredstvih), ker:
strictly speaking, the FSA measure is not an asset guarantee, but a guarantee of Dexia’s obligations towards FSAM under its own guarantee (through the put): it is only if Dexia does not honour its obligations to purchase the assets concerned from FSAM if the put is exercised that a call will be made on the guarantee of the Belgian and French States; consequently, the FSA measure does not entail a transfer or an automatic sale of assets,
ukrep za družbo FSA strogo vzeto ni jamstvo za sredstva, ampak jamstvo za obveznosti skupine Dexia do družbe FSAM iz naslova njenega lastnega jamstva (na podlagi opcijske pogodbe): jamstvo Belgije in Francije se vpokliče samo, če Dexia ne more izpolniti svojih obveznosti v zvezi z odkupom zadevnih sredstev družbe FSAM v primeru izvajanja opcijske pogodbe; ukrep za družbo FSA zato ne povzroči niti prenosa niti samodejne odprodaje sredstev,
the purpose of the measure is not to guarantee the FSAM portfolio in favour of Dexia, but to enable a sale to be made as a matter of urgency which is necessary for restructuring Dexia,
namen ukrepa ni jamčiti za portfelj družbe FSAM v korist skupine Dexia, temveč omogočiti takojšnjo odprodajo, ki je v primeru prestrukturiranja skupine Dexia nujna,
this sale was made following an open, transparent process which, by analogy with the cases of privatisation, should lead to the conclusion that it contains no element constituting State aid,
navedena odprodaja je bila izvedena na podlagi odprtega in preglednega postopka, zato naj bi bilo mogoče po analogiji s privatizacijo sklepati, da ne vsebuje nobenega elementa državne pomoči,
the measure, notified before the date of adoption of the Impaired Assets Communication (25 February 2009), having been declared compatible with point 16 of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty [27], there is no need to require it also to be compatible with the Impaired Assets Communication.(111) In addition, the Member States concerned stress that, even if the FSA measure were to be assessed in the light of the Impaired Assets Communication, the Commission is in possession of all the elements enabling it to find that this measure is compatible with the internal market on the grounds, in particular, that:
ker je bil ukrep, priglašen pred datumom sprejetja Sporočila o oslabljenih sredstvih (25. februar 2009), že razglašen za združljivega z odstavkom 16 Smernic Skupnosti o državni pomoči za reševanje in prestrukturiranje podjetij v težavah [27], ni treba zahtevati, da mora biti združljiv tudi s Sporočilom o oslabljenih sredstvih.(111) Zadevne države članice še poudarjajo, da tudi če bi bilo treba ukrep proučiti ob upoštevanju Sporočila Komisije o oslabljenih sredstvih, ima Komisija na voljo vse elemente, na podlagi katerih lahko ugotovi, da je zadevni ukrep združljiv z notranjim trgom, zlasti ker:
the burden-sharing of the costs is in accordance with the Impaired Assets Communication, in particular as the amount of the first losses borne by Dexia, which represents over 36 % of the nominal value of the portfolio of the covered assets, is a threshold which is well above the 10 % minimum laid down in the Impaired Assets Communication; in addition, if a call is made on the guarantee of the Belgian and French States beyond the first tranche of losses, they are reimbursed by Dexia in securities constituting own funds, the issue of which will have a dilution effect on the other shareholders of the group,
je porazdelitev stroškov v skladu s Sporočilom o oslabljenih sredstvih, med drugim zaradi zneska prvih izgub skupine Dexia, ki pomeni več kot 36 % nominalnega zneska portfelja zavarovanih sredstev, kar je precej nad 10-odstotnim minimumom, določenim v Sporočilu o oslabljenih sredstvih; poleg tega Dexia v primeru vpoklica jamstva Belgije in Francije, ki je večje od prve tranše izgub, te nadomesti z vrednostnimi papirji iz lastnih sredstev, katerih izdaja bo slabo vplivala na druge delničarje skupine,
the measure is subject to remuneration at market conditions equal to the median value of the Dexia five-year CDS spreads (over the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 August 2008) plus 70 basis points, i.e. 113 basis points; the Member States concerned stress, in this respect, that the remuneration rate has been increased by 21 basis points compared to the amount initially notified to the Commission,
za ukrep se dodeli tržno nadomestilo, enako povprečju petletnih poslov kreditnih zamenjav skupine Dexia (za obdobje od 1. januarja 2007 do 31. avgusta 2008), povečanemu za 70 bazičnih točk, kar znaša 113 bazičnih točk; zadevne države članice v zvezi s tem poudarjajo, da se je stopnja nadomestila povečala za 21 bazičnih točk v primerjavi z zneskom, ki je bil prvotno priglašen Komisiji,
the economic loss on the assets covered by the measure, as valued by independent parties, according to a methodology validated by the national supervisory authorities, is borne in full by Dexia in so far as, as mentioned above, the maximum loss remains below the amount of the first losses borne by Dexia.
gospodarsko izgubo sredstev, zavarovanih z ukrepom, kot so jo neodvisne stranke ocenile na podlagi metodologije, ki so jo potrdili nacionalni nadzorni organi, v celoti krije Dexia, ker je, kot je bilo navedeno zgoraj, najvišja izguba še vedno nižja od zneska prvih izgub skupine Dexia.
Consequently, the Member States concerned consider the FSA measure to be compatible with the internal market and the amount of aid contained in the measure to be zero.
Zadevne države članice zato menijo, da je ukrep za družbo FSA združljiv z notranjim trgom in da je znesek pomoči iz ukrepa nič.
The initial restructuring plan
Prvotni načrt prestrukturiranja