Tough decision following the investigation into the manipulation of the ROBOR index: The Competition Council has fined 10 banks in Romania a total of 3.73 billion lei

The Competition Council imposed total fines of 3.73 billion lei (approximately 710 million euros) on 10 banks in Romania, accused of violating competition rules by coordinating behavior during the procedure for setting the ROBOR index. The Competition Council states that, following an investigation, it found that the banks participating in the establishment of ROBOR coordinated their behavior through an exchange of confidential and strategic information, particularly regarding prices, concerning the level of ROBOR during the fixing procedure.

The president of the institution, Bogdan Chirițoiu, emphasized that the decision does not target regulations in the banking sector, but rather the behavior of the banks during the fixing period.

The fines were distributed as follows:

• Banca Comercială Română SA: 577.36 million lei;

• BRD-Groupe Société Générale SA: 412.47 million lei;

• Banca Transilvania S.A.: 875.74 million lei;

• Banca Transilvania SA (for the act committed by OTP Bank Romania SA): 85.03 million lei;

• ING Bank N.V. Amsterdam Bucharest Branch: 405.91 million lei;

• Raiffeisen Bank Romania SA: 442.49 million lei;

• Exim Bank Romania SA: 96.49 million lei;

• CEC Bank SA: 332.98 million lei;

• UniCredit Bank SA: 431.03 million lei;

• Banca Comercială Intesa Sanpaolo Romania SA: 28.1 million lei;

• Libra Internet Bank SA: 45.86 million lei

The investigation began at the end of 2022 and included a detailed analysis, and the banks have 60 days to propose remedial measures. The Council's decisions are enforceable and can be challenged in court.