Aid for Greek T bank approved, “to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy”

The European Commission has approved €680 million of state aid over a six-month period for the resolution of T Bank in Greece. The aid is granted by the Hellenic Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund (“HDIGF”), and will go toward facilitating Hellenic Postbank’s acquisition of T Bank’s economic businesses. T Bank, formerly Aspis Bank, is a small bank that had struggled. The Bank of Greece proceeded with the resolution of T Bank on December 17, 2011, and transferred T Bank’s assets and liabilities to Hellenic Postbank. Hellenic Postbank, the sixth-largest Greek domestic bank, already had a 32.9 percent share in T Bank.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia said,”The Commission made sure that the aid granted in that context was restricted to the minimum necessary to compensate the buyer for the lower value of the assets transferred as compared to the transferred liabilities.” T Bank’s liabilities amount to €2.16 billion, yet the value of the transferred assets total €1.48 billion. HDIGF covered the gap, which the Commission found to be necessary to maintain financial stability in the Greek banking markets. Article 107(1) of the TFEU allows aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.

Full content: EC Press Release

Related content: Banking Regulatory Reform: “Too Big to Fail” and What Still Needs to be Done (Abel Mateus, University College London)

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