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Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic Annual Report 2001
12
In the first case Erste bank acquired the share in the amount of 87,18 % of capital of Slovenská
sporite
a, through which it acquired the exclusive control over this company. Even though Erste bank
did not have a share in the Slovak market it operates in the area of financial services providing to the
population and to the middle class undertakings, likewise Slovenská sporite
a. Slovenská sporite
a
is the one of the biggest Slovak banks, so the Office has been assessing this concentration very
thoroughly. Above all the Office assessed the impact of concentration on relevant markets, mainly in
the area of financial services providing to population, financial services providing to the undertakings
and to the public sector and activities oriented to the financial markets and simultaneously it has been
assessing the intensity of competition surroundings in the individual markets. Assessing
concentrations, the Office took into consideration primarily market structure in the area of bank
services and other services, provided by banks, market shares of participants to concentration and
their competitors, size and form of distribution networks of individual banks, historical and presumptive
development in the market of bank services, barriers to entry the sector and it found out that the
concentration would not create effective obstacle to competition, even in spite of the significant position
of Slovenská sporite
a in Slovak market, so the Office approved the subjected concentration without
conditions.
Similarly the Office has been assessing the second important concentration in the banking area,
through which IntesaBci acquired the exclusive control over Všeobecná úverová banka, as it has
purchased 94,47% of the stocks of VÚB. The Office has been assessing this concentration very
thoroughly as IntesaBci is the biggest Italian bank operating in the same markets as VÚB does, in
more than 40 countries all around the world and VÚB is one of the biggest Slovak banks operating
simultaneously through its subsidiaries in the area of collective investment, counselling, factoring,
forfaiting and saving intended to building. Regarding all factors, as in the case of Slovenská sporite
a,
the Office concluded that this concentration would not restrict competition and the subjected
concentration has been approved without conditions.
EXAMING THE LEGALITY OF THE OFFICE’S DECISIONS
BY THE SUPREME COURT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
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