No L 295/28 ‘Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 10. 86 COMMISSION DECISION of 30 September 1986 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (IV/31.362 — Irish Banks’ Standing Committee) (Only the English text is authehtic) (86/507/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, first Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty ('), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Article 2 thereof, Having regard to the application for negative clearance submitted on 15 October 1984 by the Irish Banks’ Standing Committee on behalf of its members, concer- ning a number of agreements then in force between them, After publication (%) of the summary of the application pursuant to Article 19 (3) of Regulation No 17, After consulting the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, Whereas : I. THE FACTS (1) On 15 October 1984 the Irish Banks’ Standing Committee (IBSC) filed an application for negative clearance on behalf of its members for a number of agreements then in force between them. (20 This application was filed as a precautionary measure, the members having earlier voluntarily terminated a number of agreements relating to commissions charged for various banking services which previously existed between them. A. The parties (3)  The parties to which this application relates are the members of the IBSC, namely, Allied Irish Banks plc (Dublin, Ireland), Bank of Ireland (Dublin, Ireland), Northern Bank Ltd (Belfast, United (') OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62. () OJ No C 143, 10. 6. 1986, p. 4. (4) () © Kingdom) and Ulster Bank Ltd (Belfast, United Kingdom). The latter two are wholly-owned subsi- diaries of Midland Bank plc (London, United Kingdom) and National Westminster Bank plc (London, United Kingdom), respectively. The four banks are generally referred to as the ‘Associated Banks’. The IBSC is an unincorporated members’ associa- tion whose activities are not laid down by statute or internal regulations. In practice, its principal func- tions are twofold : to provide a forum for cooper- ation in technical and operational matters, and to coordinate and represent the views of its members in dealings with the Authorities and other relevant representative bodies. B. The market The three categories of financial institutions opera- ting in Ireland are as follows: 1. Licensed banks, that is, banks licensed and controlled by the Central Bank of Ireland. These banks may be subdivided into : (a) Associated Banks, that is, the parties, which are the four clearing banks and principal retail banks; and (b) Non-Associated Banks, that is, the Merchant and Commercial (‘wholesale’) Banks, and Industrial (deposit taking and lending) Banks, of which there are thirty-three in total ; 2. State-owned and State-sponsored Banks, of which there are four; : 3. Building Societies, whose lending activities are confined to mortgage finance for housing in Ireland. ' In addition, there also exist hire-purchase com- panies and credit unions. The Associated Banks’ share of total non-govern- ment lending in Ireland is approximately 38 %. Their share of the total non-government deposit market is approximately 43 %.