A fine of 41,756,180.10 euros was imposed by the Competition Commission on five banking institutions and the Hellenic Banks Association for coordinated practice in interbank systems and payment and electronic transaction services.

In addition, banks are obliged to reduce from January 1, 2024 the amount of the DAF fee per ATM cash withdrawal transaction using cards issued by other institutions and the upper limit to be maintained for a period of three years. It is noted that the fines are the result of a compromise in the context of being subject to the Dispute Settlement process.

In detail, the decision is as follows:

The Plenary Session of the Competition Commission (EA), with the no. 838/2023 Unanimous Decision of, according to the simplified Dispute Settlement procedure of article 29a of law 3959/2011, as valid and according to no. 790/2022 decision, accepted the relevant Dispute Settlement Proposals submitted by the companies “BANK OF PIRAEUS JSC” (hereinafter “Bank of Piraeus”), “NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE S.A.” (hereinafter “National Bank”), “ALPHA BANK JSC” (hereinafter “Alpha Bank”), “EUROBANK JSC” (hereinafter “Eurobank”), “ATTICA BANK JSC” (hereinafter “Attica Bank”), as well as the HELLENIC UNION OF BANKS (hereinafter “EET”) following a report by the rapporteur Mr. Fotis and imposed reduced fines for the fulfillment of the identified violations of Article 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU, based on the rationale of the decision, in total amounting to 41,756,180.10 euros.

The aforementioned companies involved in the process, for which evidence was collected capable of establishing a violation of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU in the context of a horizontal partnership, expressed in writing their interest in investigating the possibility of their inclusion in the DDD and submitted relevant request, in accordance with what is provided in par. 16 of the announcement on the Dispute Settlement Procedure.

The plenary session of the committee imposed on the involved banks as a measure of conduct, according to article 25 par. 1 item. c’, the reduction of the commission applied to ATM cash withdrawal transactions using cards issued by other institutions (“off-us” withdrawals), taking into account cost studies by independent experts.

Also, the plenary accepted EET’s proposal to implement, within six months from the publication of the Settlement decision, an internal compliance program. In particular, it accepted the implementation of an internal compliance program at EET, which will include the updating of the existing Free Competition Policy, the continuous training and information regarding free competition issues of the executives of EET and the members of its committees, the internal evaluation every six months of actions taken from the perspective of free competition, the timely receipt of expert opinion on issues related to competition law, the institutionalized exchange of relevant opinions with corresponding foreign associations and the inclusion of a special section in the annual report, which will be in disposal of the committee.

According to the rationale of the decision, it follows from the available evidence that the banking institutions in question were involved in practices that constitute, as the case may be, violations of articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU, namely:

AI) Single and continuous violation from the beginning of 2018 until today, which consists of the following practices:

1. harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank, Alpha Bank and Eurobank, regarding the transition to a new pricing model (adoption of direct access fee – DAF) for cash withdrawal transactions from ATMs (a) with foreign cards and ( b) with cards of domestic payment service providers (“PPS”) outside the DIASATM system,

2. exchange of information that constitutes a harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank and Eurobank, regarding the intended amount of the DAF charge for cash withdrawal transactions from ATMs (a) with foreign cards and (b) with cards of domestic PYPs outside the DIASATM system,

* agreement and/or harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank, Eurobank and Attica Bank regarding the transition to a new pricing model (adoption of the DAF charge) for cash withdrawal transactions from ATMs using domestic PYP cards within the system DIASATM,

1. exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank, Eurobank and Attica Bank regarding the intended amount of the DAF charge for cash withdrawal transactions from ATMs with cards of domestic ATMs participating in the DIASATM system,

2. exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank, Eurobank and Attica Bank, with the participation of EET as a “facilitator”, with the object of imposing or not issuing fees as well as the amount of said charge.

AII) A single and continuous violation from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2019, as the case may be, consisting of the following practices:

1. exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank, Eurobank and Attica Bank with the object of the possible introduction of charges in banking products and services, related to the issuance and acceptance of payment cards, payment accounts, cash transactions, loans and other transactions,

2. exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between, as the case may be, Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank, Eurobank, Attica Bank and EET (the latter as a “facilitating factor” – facilitator in the harmonized practice between the above five banks) with the object of possible introduction of specific charges in banking operations and/or as the case may be, the probable time of their introduction and/or the amount of specific charges,

B) Exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank and Eurobank regarding the invoicing conditions of the VIVA company for the execution of credit transfers through the DIAS CREDIT TRANSFER system, as well as other transaction conditions, from August 2018 until the beginning of 2019 (where applicable).

Furthermore, EET’s involvement in the identified violations consists of the following practices:

A) In relation to the above under AI) a single and continuous violation, which in terms of EET extends from the end of 2018 to the middle of 2019:

1. decision of a business association regarding the transition to a new pricing model (adoption of the Direct Access Fee) applied by its member banks for cash withdrawal transactions from ATMs using cards issued by domestic PYPs within the DIASATM system,

2. participation (as a “facilitator”) in an exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between its member banks, Piraeus Bank, National Bank, Alpha Bank, Eurobank and Attica Bank, with the object of both enforcement or non-enforcement by member banks issuing fee as well as the amount of said fee.

B) In relation to the above under AII) single and continuous violation, which in terms of EET extends from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2019:

1. Business association decision with the object of a) the possible introduction of charges in banking products and services, related to the issuance and acceptance of payment cards, payment accounts, cash transactions, loans and other transactions and b) the determination of transaction terms regarding the possible introduction uniform packages of banking services,

2. participation (as a “facilitator” – facilitator) in an exchange of information which constitutes a harmonized practice between its member banks, Piraeus Bank, National Bank, AlphaBank, Eurobank and Attica Bank with the object of the eventual introduction by the member banks of the specific charges for banking operations and/or as the case may be, the probable time of their introduction and/or the amount of specific charges.

C) Decision of a business association regarding the refusal to admit the company VIVA PAYMENT SERVICES SOLE INDIVIDUAL COMPANY AS A MEMBER IN THE HELLENIC BANK ASSOCIATION. The duration of the infringement extends from mid-2015 to the end of 2019.

D) Decision of an association of companies regarding the prevention of the participation of VIVA PAYMENT SERVICES SOLE PERSONAL ANONYMOUS COMPANY in the DIAS CREDIT TRANSFER system as an indirect member. The duration of the infringement extends from the beginning to the middle of 2018.

The Plenary of the committee, by virtue of par. 35 of no. 790/2022 of its Decision, decided to accept, in accordance with the rationale of the rapporteur’s report, the Dispute Settlement proposals submitted by the involved companies and EET and to issue a Decision according to which:

A. Finds that Piraeus Bank, National Bank, Alpha Bank, Eurobank and Attica Bank, as well as EET violated Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU due to their participation in prohibited partnerships through the practices described above .

B. Obliges the aforementioned companies and EET to cease, if they have not already done so, and to refrain in the future from the established violations of articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU.

C. Imposes fines for the found violations of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 of the TFEU, depending on the relevant turnover, as follows:

* Piraeus Bank: 12,993,482.86 euros

* National Bank: 9,978,799.18 euros

* Alpha Bank: 9,110,682.91 euros

* Eurobank: 7,976,790.63 euros

* Attica Bank: 143,181.65 euros

* EET: 1,553,242.87 euros.

D. Obliges the aforementioned companies to reduce from January 1, 2024 the amount of the DAF fee per transaction of cash withdrawal from an ATM using cards issued by other institutions, so that it is structured as a maximum as follows:

* Piraeus Bank: up to 2.00 euros, from the current amount of 3.00 euros,

* National Bank: up to 1.90 euros, from the current amount of 2.60 euros,

* Alpha Bank: up to 1.80 euros, from the current amount of 2.50 euros,

* Eurobank: up to 1.80 euros, from the current amount of 2.50 euros

* Attica Bank: up to 1.50 euros, from the current amount of 2.00 euros,

E. Obliges each of the aforementioned companies to maintain the above DAF supply levels for a period of three years from the implementation of the measure, with a review clause by the EA for up to two additional years, after the expiration of the three years and with the possibility of imposing a fine from the committee in case of non-compliance with the above measure of conduct.

F. Accepts EET’s proposal to implement, within six months from the publication of the settlement decision, an internal compliance program, with the aim of avoiding in the future the identified violations of Articles 1 of Law 3959/2011 and 101 TFEU.