Because the Antitrust still stops the ATM projects on the new commissions
What hides the extension of the Agcm for the decision on the Bancomat spa project that divides large banks and medium-small institutions
Another extension for the decision of the Antitrust Authority on the project presented by Bancomat SpA relating to the cash withdrawal service from affiliated ATMs. The Antitrust Authority has in fact announced that it has postponed the closing of the investigation to next October 31st, which began on December 1, 2020 and expired on April 29th.
THE PROCESS OF THE INVESTIGATION ON BANCOMAT SPA
As will be remembered, in September 2021 Piazza Verdi had already decided to extend the timeframe following the further forecasts communicated by Bancomat SpA on July 28 and regarding – as reported in the Authority's weekly Bulletin – "the transparency and cost profiles for issuing banks and quantification of the withdrawal commission ".
WHAT THE ANTITRUST MUST ASSESS ON THE BANCOMAT PROJECT
15 months ago the Authority chaired by Roberto Rustichelli started the procedure on the project following a communication sent by Bancomat Spa, which as of 29 December boasted 116 shareholders – including Intesa Sanpaolo (31.55%), Unicredit ( 18.92%), Iccrea (11.2%), Banco Bpm (7.67%), Montepaschi (7.56%), Bnl-Bnp (5%), Bper (4.71%), Cassa Centrale ( 2.79%) – and 210 institutions belonging to the Bancomat and PagoBancomat circuits.
In Piazza Verdi, the company chaired by Franco Dalla Sega (managing director and general manager is Alessandro Zollo) essentially asked to evaluate this "alternative model" starting from the most important innovations, namely the abolition of the interchange fee and the payment of the commission applied. the withdrawal – by the consumer – directly to the credit institution where the ATM is located.
The new hypothesized model , as stated in the initiation provision, "would involve the elimination of the interchange fees currently associated with the ATM withdrawal". The modification of the remuneration model “would be justified by the increase in the costs incurred by banks in managing ATMs, linked to the technological evolution of such equipment and to the greater risks associated with more sophisticated fraudulent initiatives; costs which, in many cases, would be greater than the amount of the interchange fee. The new remuneration system, on the other hand, would incentivize greater investments by the owners of the ATMs in the related equipment, to the benefit of the consumer audience ".
The Competition and Market Authority has the task of assessing "whether the new circuit rules can set up an agreement capable of restricting or distorting competition in the common market, pursuant to Article 101 of the TFEU (Functioning Treaty of 'European Union, ed) ". It is therefore necessary to examine whether "the coordination of the market behavior of the subjects participating in the Bancomat Consortium, which occurs due to the provisions of the new remuneration rules for circular withdrawals, entails a restriction of competition, also taking into account the impact on the competitive capacity of the various operators, also in consideration of the different extension of the ATM network ".
THE FEARS OF MINOR BANKS
In anticipation of the outcome of the Agcm assessment, there are above all the smaller institutes that could suffer damage from the news presented by Bancomat SpA At least this is what is circulating in Assopopolar i, the association chaired by Corrado Sforza Fogliani. The purpose of the proposal – he argues – is to encourage customers of small and medium-sized banks to move their accounts to larger banks, which – in addition to a greater number of branches throughout the country – have sufficient economic resources to maintain the cost of the circular withdrawal service is free or allow you to charge smaller amounts than those of popular banks. A project, that of Bancomat SpA, which would therefore lead to a competitive disadvantage of medium-small institutions compared to large ones.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/perche-antitrust-stoppa-ancora-i-progetti-di-bancomat-sulle-nuove-commissioni/ on Tue, 10 May 2022 09:27:50 +0000.