Context:

The Competition Council has granted banks access to the minutes of the deliberation meeting in the ROBOR investigation. This is only one of the many steps still to be completed in the process.

Although Banca Transilvania has not, as of the time these details were published, received the official written notification of the sanctioning decision, we have nonetheless learned from the media — contrary to all customary practice and procedural rules — the amounts of the fines imposed on the banks in this investigation: a fine on Banca Transilvania of 875.74 million lei (in its own name) and a fine of 85.03 million lei (related to OTP Bank România).

Banca Transilvania continues to await the official written decision and its statement of reasons.

Banca Transilvania’s position:

We strongly reject the report’s conclusions, reaffirm our innocence and consider that the decision lacks any foundation or real basis. Beyond the financial implications, we are determined to defend our reputation.

We announce that, once the decision and its reasoning are officially confirmed, we will initiate legal steps to challenge it before the Bucharest Court of Appeal. We are also prepared to bring our case before any competent courts or authorities, domestic and international, to fully protect our rights.

Together with our in-house counsel, external counsel and auditors, we are confident there are solid grounds for a favorable court ruling that fully refutes the Council’s allegations. We have full confidence in Romania’s justice system.

On the merits, we believe the proposed sanction against Banca Transilvania ignores both the legal framework applicable to the banking sector and the way the sector is supervised and regulated, as well as the fact that BT acted in compliance with the law, market rules and the standards set by the regulatory authorities.

Procedurally, we express reservations about how this situation has been handled overall and, in particular, we draw attention to poor communication with the parties involved. We are surprised to see information of major interest disclosed in the press before we have received an official written communication.

The Competition Council’s decision comes at a difficult time for the country and the national economy, when banks are the main pillar of economic and financial stability and among the few remaining hopes for economic recovery. Reducing banks’ future capitalization (in total) by the amount being reported could lead to a potential contraction in lending across the banking system of up to 5 billion euros.

The Competition Council’s arbitrary and unfounded decision may reduce the chances of an immediate economic recovery.