Judgment of the General Court of 28 February 2024 – BAWAG PSK v ECB
(Case T-667/21) 1
(Economic and monetary policy – Prudential supervision of credit institutions – Second subparagraph of Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 – Direct exercise by the ECB of a power of a competent authority under the relevant Union law – Levying absorption interest under Austrian law where Article 395 of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 has been infringed – Competence of the ECB – Article 65(1) and Article 70 of Directive 2013/36/EU – Proportionality)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicant: BAWAG PSK Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse AG (Vienna, Austria) (represented by: H. Bälz, D. Bliesener, M. Bsaisou and G. Tönningsen, lawyers)
Defendant: European Central Bank (represented by: K. Lackhoff, J. Poscia and M. Ioannidis, acting as Agents)
Intervener in support of the defendant: Republic of Austria (represented by: J. Schmoll and F. Koppensteiner, acting as Agents)
Re:
By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks to have set aside decision ECB-SSM-2021-ATBAW-7-ESA-2018-0000126 of 2 August 2021 of the European Central Bank (ECB), which was taken pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) and (3) and Article 9(1) of Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 of 15 October 2013 conferring specific tasks on the ECB concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions (OJ 2013 L 287, p. 63), read in conjunction with Article 395(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ 2013 L 176, p. 1, and corrigenda OJ 2013 L 208, p. 68, and OJ 2013 L 321, p. 6) and point 2 of Paragraph 97(1) of the Bundesgesetz über das Bankwesen (Bankwesengesetz) (Law on the banking sector) of 30 July 1993 (BGBl. 532/1993), as amended by the Bundesgesetz, mit dem das Bankwesengesetz, das Börsegesetz 2018, das Finalitätsgesetz, das Finanzmarkt-Geldwäsche-Gesetz, das Sanierungs- und Abwicklungsgesetz, das Wertpapieraufsichtsgesetz 2018 und das Zentrale Gegenparteien-Vollzugsgesetz geändert werden (Federal Law amending the Law on banking activities, the Law on stock exchanges 2018, the Law on settlement finality, the Law on money laundering on financial markets, the Law on recovery and resolution, the Law on the securities supervision 2018 and the Law on the enforcement of central counterparties) of 28 May 2021 (BGBl. I, 98/2021).
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Annuls decision ECB/SSM/2021-ATBAW-7-ESA-2018-0000126 of 2 August 2021 of the European Central Bank (ECB);
Orders the ECB to bear its own costs and to pay those of BAWAG PSK Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse AG;
Orders the Republic of Austria to bear its own costs.
____________
1 OJ C 502, 13.12.2021.