Press Release: State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into aid package for German Landesbank BayernLB and its Austrian subsidiary Hypo Group Alpe Adria

The European Commission opened under EC Treaty state aid rules an in-depth investigation into state support measures for German Landesbank BayernLB and its Austrian subsidiary Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA). BayernLB obtained rescue aid in the form of a capital injection of €10 billion and a risk shield of €4.8 billion, endorsed by the Commission on 18 December 2008. Also in December 2008 HGAA received €0.7 billion capital injection from BayernLB. In addition, HGAA received a €0.9 billion capital injection from Austria on the basis of the Austrian banking emergency rescue scheme, approved by the Commission in December 2008. The opening of an investigation is common for state interventions of this magnitude and will ensure legal certainty for the companies concerned. It also gives interested parties the possibility to submit their comments. It does not prejudge the outcome of the procedure.

European Commission: SPEECH/09/237: State aid decisions on Landesbanken http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/09/237&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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