Brussels, 18/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 December, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to examine whether a payment of €405,415 in dividends on 28 September 2012 by Caixa Geral Finance Limited, an affiliate of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), to institutional investors, is in line with EU State aid rules. Last July (see EUROPE 10658), the Commission authorised rescue capital injection from the Portuguese State amounting to €1.65 billion recapitalisation subject to commitments including, in particular, a ban on the payment of dividends and coupons on hybrid capital. Such aid should be used to restructure the bank and should not be used to remunerate own funds when the activities of the beneficiary do not generate sufficient profits. The Commission will investigate whether the dividend payments involve a misuse of the rescue aid that CGD had received and whether they constitute, in turn, state aid to the recipients. (FG/transl.fl)