Brussels, 22/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the Commission authorised the transfer of the banking and financial activities of La Poste to its subsidiary la Banque postale, the postal bank. "The subsidiarisation of the financial activities of La Poste is, in itself, and major step towards greater transparency in the banking sector in France", said Neelie Kroes in a press release. The other planks of the operation, concerning the near-exclusive right to sell the “livret A” (the interest from which is tax-free), and the unlimited State guarantee and social regimes for the staff of La Poste made available to the Banque postale, will be analysed in a separate decision, according to the spokesperson to the Commissioner in charge of Competition. Next year, the Commission will decide whether or not an in-depth investigation should be opened, the spokesperson added.
Stating that the subsidiarisation of the financial activities of La Poste would not lead to any economic advantage for the Banque postale, the Commission raised its most recent doubts about the official launch of the latter on 1 January 2006. The "fine-tooth comb" analysis of the Commission focused on three points and concluded that: (a) in the absence of additional capital from the French State, the provision of own funds from La Poste to its subsidiary did not constitute State aid; (b) the French State, which will guarantee the funds in various accounts and savings accounts (not including livret A) for 2006, will be remunerated via a premium established at market conditions and (c) remuneration paid by the Banque postale to La Poste as part of service agreements will confer no economic advantage upon the bank.