Vj-27/1997/16

BANK AUSZTRIA AG / CREDITANSTALT-BANKVEREIN AG

The Bank Austria (BA) and the Creditanstalt Bankverein (CA) are registered commercial banks in Austria and their activities together with their subsidiaries cover the whole range of the banking services.

The two banks notified their application for authorisation of the Office of Economic Competition (hereinafter: OEC) under which BA planned to buy 48.61% of shares of CA from the Austrian government and, consequently, it would control CA with 69.45% of the voting rights.

Considering the fact that the acquisition affects the Hungarian market through the subsidiaries of both banks as well as that the threshold, stipulated by the Competition Act, is exceeded by the total assets of the banks in the previous business year in the territory of Hungary, the parties were obliged to apply for authorisation of the OEC. The investigation considered the whole territory of Hungary as relevant geographic market and the whole credit market as relevant product market.

Since trade between the Member States of the European Union was affected the planned transaction should have been notified also to the European Commission. Taking into consideration the relevant regulation of the Treaty of Rome as well as the merger control law (Council Regulation 4064/89) in the EU the Commission did not block the planned transaction of the banks.

The Competition Council of the OEC stated in its decision that there was a strong competition on the Hungarian credit market which could not be threatened by the BA - CA concentration. The transaction did not create or strengthen a dominant position on the relevant market therefore it did not affect competition between undertakings, consequently it did not cause any harm on the interest of consumers.

The OEC published the planned concentration in an economic paper but no objection arrived.

On the basis of the above the Competition Council authorised the concentration.

June 24, 1997. Budapest

Fógel Jánosné dr. sk. előadó
dr. Bodócsi András sk.
dr. Kállai Mária sk.
Ágoston Marika