Competition Authority, BdP, and banks to face hearings following PS's accusations of a 'banking cartel'

The Competition Authority, led by Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, has concluded that the practices of the so-called 'Banking Cartel' were a serious infringement of competition legislation. This conclusion was reached following investigations into the exchange of sensitive information between banks, which occurred between 2002 and 2013.

In a recent turn of events, the TC conference has confirmed the annulment of the 225 million euro fines that were initially imposed on the 'Banking Cartel' in 2019. This decision, however, does not remove the reason for the AdC (the Competition Authority) to continue its actions regarding the 'banking cartel' case.

The TCRS, another institution within the Competition Authority, has confirmed the facts of the infringement committed by the 'banking cartel'. The TJUE, a higher court, clarified that the infringement was an object infringement, a serious infringement that does not require proof of effects on consumers.

The socialist deputies believe that the parliament "cannot fail to exercise its democratic scrutiny role and as a guarantor of transparency in the banking sector". As a result, parliamentary hearings have been requested from the Competition Authority, the Bank of Portugal, the Portuguese Banking Association, and the administrations of CGD, BCP, Santander, and BPI.

The administrations of the aforementioned banks "must provide public explanations to the country about the practices they engaged in" related to the 'banking cartel' case. Despite the annulment of the fines, no relevant information has been found regarding the specific banks involved or the changes they made to their sanctions policies after the penalty was annulled.

On August 28, an official source from the Competition Authority assured that they did everything they could for the financial institutions involved in the 'banking cartel' case to be condemned for infringements between 2002 and 2013. The PS (Portuguese Socialist Party) states that this situation raises serious concerns, and they believe that the concern is due to a serious perception of impunity of financial institutions.

The parliamentary hearings are expected to shed light on the practices of the 'Banking Cartel' and the reasons behind the annulment of the fines. The PS and the socialist deputies emphasise the importance of transparency and accountability in the banking sector, and they call for the parliament to exercise its democratic scrutiny role in this matter.