Association of German Banks welcomes decision by the European Commission

21 October 2004 - The Association of German Banks welcomes today’s decision by the European Commission on the pending state aid cases concerning the transfer of real estate assets to Landesbanken. "This is another major step towards establishing a level playing field for private and public-sector banks," said Manfred Weber, the Association’s Chief Executive Officer.

During previous talks the Association and the Landesbanken had moved closer together and drafted joint proposals aimed at resolving the proceedings. The Commission made their decisions on this basis. “We welcome the fact that the European Commission has followed our proposals and that the way forward is now clear,” added Weber. He pointed out that it had not, however, been possible to reach agreement with Helaba. Helaba’s inclusion in the package of decisions was understandable from the Commission’s point of view, since it wanted to rule on all the cases en bloc. The Association of German Banks would now look into whether the economic impact of the capital injection had, as in the other cases, been taken sufficiently into account by the Commission.