5.12 The case of Banca Tercas

This case concerned the contribution paid to Banca Tercas by the Fondo Interbancario di Tutela dei Depositi (FITD), the Italian deposit guarantee scheme. The contribution was provided in order to bring up the negative equity of Banca Tercas to 0 before the business was taken over by Banca Popolare di Bari (BPB).

Italy considered that the intervention by the FITD did not constitute State aid, because the FITD’s resources could not be considered as State resources, and the decision to use them was solely imputable to the FITD’s members. The Commission, however, did not accept these arguments. In the Banca Tercas- decision, the Commission declared that the contribution paid to Banca Tercas by the FITD constituted State aid.

Furthermore, the Commission considered that the State aid was incompatible with the internal market. This conclusion was based on the following factors: i) the absence of a restructuring plan; ii) insufficient burden-sharing by the subordinated creditors; and iii) the lack of remuneration for the FITD intervention. Since the State aid was incompatible, the Commission ordered the recovery of the State aid.

Both the Italian State and Banca Tercas brought an action for annulment against the Banca Tercas-decision. NB: this PhD-study was concluded on 1 August 2017. At that time, the Court had not yet rendered a judgment in this case.