The Italian Competition Authority targets a price-fixing agreement in banking markets

Following a report lodged by a consumer association the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has recently opened an investigation on a price-fixing agreement against six regional banks active in the northern province of Bolzano (Case I777). The relevant market affected by the contested agreement is the market for borrowing to families for the province of Bolzano. Indeed, according to the ICA decisional practice, the territorial scope for the market for borrowing to families is mainly local.
The ICA believed that the six banks, which accounted for 40% of the relevant market, agreed to insert into floating-rate mortgage contracts a clause that consistently set the floor rate in the region of 3%. Such arrangement amounts to jointly decide a minimum price, reducing the price competition amongst the parties and leading to more onerous conditions for consumers.

Finally, the ICA took the view that the contested agreement might infringe either the Italian Competition Act or Article 101 TFEU, considering that the parties behaviours may potentially negatively affect also the competition in the banking markets of neighbouring Austria.

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