12.5.3.5 Write-down

As discussed in subsection 12.5.3.1, nationalisation can be achieved by a write- down: the shares are cancelled, while the State simultaneously injects new capital in the bank. There are also a few bank State aid cases in which the shares were cancelled, but without the State subscribing to newly issued shares. In the table in annex VIII, these cases are categorised under the heading “write- down”, while the bank State aid cases in which the shares were written-down in the context of a nationalisation are categorised under the heading “nationalisation”.

The case of Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg may serve as an example of a case categorised as a “write-down”. Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg was a subsidiary of the Icelandic banking group Kaupthing Bank. This is a case in the S/T/W- context: the bank’s activities in Belgium and Luxembourg were taken over by other banks, while all other assets were transferred to a SPV. As regards burden- sharing, the Commission noted the following: