Montepio Savings Bank will appeal against the decision of the Competition Authority (PCA) which sentenced it to a fine of €13 million for sharing sensitive information on credit.
“Montepio does not comply with the decision and will adopt all the necessary measures to defend its best interests”, reads the information disclosed by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
The PCA announced that it had sentenced 14 banks to pay fines totalling €225 million for sharing sensitive information on credit over a period of more than 10 years, between 2002 and 2013.
“In this scheme, each bank provided the others with sensitive information on its commercial offers, indicating, for example, the spreads to be applied in the near future in mortgage credit or the amounts of credit granted in the previous month, data that would otherwise not be accessible to competitors”, informed the competition regulator.
Montepio was sentenced to pay €13 million, half of the €26 million initially sentenced, as the bank joined the leniency programme, according to sources linked to the case.
CGD was the bank sentenced to the highest fine of €82 million, followed by BCP, which was sentenced to pay €60 million.
