During today’s meeting of the Budget, Finance, and Public Administration Commission, lawmakers approved hearings requested by the Chega party group, with opposition from the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
Conversely, with votes against from PSD and Chega, the commission rejected the Socialist Party’s (PS) request for hearings with the main banking institutions involved in the process.
In September 2024, the Competition Court upheld fines totaling 225 million euros imposed by the Competition Authority on 11 banks, confirming that between 2002 and 2013 “collusion” occurred with the exchange of credit information and alignment of commercial practices, distorting competition.
The banks appealed, and the Appellate Court declared the administrative offense time-barred, counting the period under review by the European judiciary. Appeals to the Constitutional Court were also denied, thus definitively annulling the fines.
In July, at the parliament, the president of the Competition Authority stated that the judiciary had not absolved the banks of offenses, highlighting a “significant contradiction” in appellate court jurisprudence regarding the statute of limitations on fines.
However, he noted that such issues in future cases would not arise due to a 2022 amendment to the Competition Law, specifying that time limits are suspended during judicial appeals.
When asked whether an interpretative law might be necessary to clarify that ongoing cases would be suspended during reviews by the European Union Court of Justice, the president of the Competition Authority said that such matters fall under the legislature’s purview.
On August 28, an official source from the Competition Authority assured Lusa that it “did everything possible” to ensure the financial institutions involved in the case known as the ‘banking cartel’ would be held accountable for offenses committed between 2002 and 2013.
The banks whose fines were annulled include CGD (82 million euros), BCP (60 million), Santander (35.65 million), BPI (30 million), Banco Montepio (13 million euros), BBVA (2.5 million), BES (700 thousand), BIC (500 thousand), Crédito Agrícola (350 thousand), UCI (150 thousand). Barclays was also fined but did not have to pay as it reported the case to the Competition Authority.
