Brussels, 02/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 2 May, the European Commission definitively approved the increase by €3 billion in the public guarantee for the bank HSH Nordbank, following an agreement in principle between the German regional authorities in October of last year (see EUROPE 11413).
This agreement provides for a split-off of the bank into, firstly, a holding company that will assume most of the financial obligations related to the payment of the guarantee costs and secondly, a subsidiary that will continue the bank's everyday operations. This subsidiary will then be priviatised in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory tendering procedure. Before this, the subsidiary will be restructured. The proceeds of the sale will be used primarily to repay the German State guarantees.
“The split and sale solution creates an opportunity to sell an important part of the bank. It paves the way for a privatised, viable business to emerge from the sale process”, commented the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager.
The procedure opened in June 2013, after the bank's general guarantee had to be raised from 7 to €10 billion. At the time, the Commission provisionally approved the aid. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)