On Monday 21 November, the European Commission confirmed its green light to the support provided by Portugal in 2015 for the resolution of the bank Banco Internacional do Funchal SA (Banif).
In December 2015, the European institution approved aid of €422 million to cover the transfer of impaired assets from Banif to Oitante, a special-purpose asset management vehicle owned by the Portuguese Resolution Fund (see EUROPE 11458).
However, the decision was made temporarily in view of the urgency of the situation, and required definitive approval following the Commission's assessment. This has now been done.
The other measures approved in December 2015, however, were definitive. These included aid in the region of €2.25 billion to cover the financing of deficit of the resolution of Banif and support in the form of a public guarantee to respond to potential recent changes in the value of the part of Banif that was sold to Banco Santander Totta.
The Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the Portuguese government's support to the bank in July 2015 (see EUROPE 11367). (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)