Press Release: State aid: European Commission extends investigation into WestLB’s bad bank and restructuring

The European Commission has extended its ongoing state aid investigation into Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB) after reaching the conclusion that the bank has received an estimated €3.4 billion more in state subsidies than was initially foreseen in the process of transferring its portfolio of impaired assets to a bad bank. Before the Commission can approve the aid, which comes on top of the support received by the bank since the start of the financial crisis, further restructuring measures to address the distortions of competition, or alternatively, its gradual reimbursement, should be considered. In the meantime the Commission continues to doubt the viability of the bank.