Brussels, 08/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes explained on Wednesday that, “we received a response from the Bank of Italy this morning, we will carefully analyse this letter as soon as possible in order to verify the Bank of Italy's action”. Clarification was requested about the proposed public takeover bid of the Italian bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (“BNL”) and the obligation of the Spanish banking group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria. (“BBVA”), acquiring at least 50% of the Italian bank if the offer is to be accepted (EUROPE 8952).
The Commission's objective is to examine whether this obligation is justified by the Bank of Italy on the basis of “cautionary conditions”, as allowed in European legislation on concentrations or if the national authority is encroaching on the Commission's competency in this area. If the Commission considers that European law has been infringed, it could adopt a decision against Italy.