5.15 The case of Banco Espirito Santo (I)

The applicants in this case were subordinated creditors of Banco Espírito Santo (BES). BES was a Portuguese bank which in August 2014 was split-up into a Bridge Bank and a Bad Bank. All the sound business activities of BES were transferred to the Bridge Bank, while the shareholders and subordinated debt holders were left in the Bad Bank. The Bridge Bank was capitalised by the Portuguese resolution fund. In its decision of 3 August 2014, the Commission considered this State aid measure to be compatible with the internal market (the “BES-decision”).

The applicants requested the Court to annul the BES-decision. The Commission contended that the action was inadmissible as the applicants did not have legal standing to bring proceedings for annulment of the BES-decision.

The General Court recalled that an action for annulment is admissible only in so far as that person has in interest in the annulment of the contested measure. In that regard, the General Court considered that that if the BES- decision were to be annulled, that would not have the effect of obliging the Portuguese Republic to reverse its decision to create a Bridge Bank and not to include in the assets of that bank bonds of the kind held by the applicants. An annulment of the BES-decision would thus procure no advantage for the applicants. The action was therefore dismissed as inadmissible.