L 307/22 Official Journal of the European Union 7.11.2006 COMMISSION DECISION of 20 October 2004 on aid from Germany for Westdeutsche Landesbank — Girozentrale (WestLB), now WestLB AG (notified under document number C(2004) 3925) (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2006737 EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above (!) and having regard to their comments, Whereas: 1 L PROCEDURE 1. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE By a complaint dated 23 March 1993, the Bundesverband deutscher Banken eV. (BdB)), representing about 300 privately owned banks in Germany, urged the Commission to institute proceedings under Article 226 of the EC Treaty against Germany. It claimed that the German Banking Supervisory Authority (Bundesaufsichtsamt fiir das Kreditwesen — ‘BAKred)) had infringed Article 4(1) of Council Directive 89/299/EEC when accepting assets of the Wohnungsbau- forderungsanstalt des Landes North Rhine-Westphalia (‘Wfa), which had been merged with Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (‘WestLB’), as own funds of the latter. By letter dated 31 May 1994, BdB informed Directorate- General 1V, responsible for competition, of the asset transfer, alleging a distortion of competition in favour of WestLB. On 21 December 1994 it filed a formal complaint requesting the Commission to initiate proceedings against Germany under Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty. In February and March 1995 and in December 1996 ten individual banks associated themselves with the complaint of their association. () O] C 140, 5.5.1998, p. 9. ©) By letters dated 12 January, 9 February, 10 November and 13 December 1993 and 16 January 1996, the Commission asked the German authorities for further information in order to determine whether the asset transfer constituted state aid. The German authorities replied by letters dated 9 February and 16 March 1993, 8 March 1994, 12 April and 26 April 1996 and 14 January 1997. A number of further letters and documents were submitted by the different parties. Commission representatives met repre- sentatives of the German authorities, WestLB and other Landesbanks as well as of the complainant at various meetings during the period 1994-97. After this exchange of information, the Commission considered it necessary to initiate proceedings under Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty. This decision was taken on 1 October 1997. In it the Commission concluded that the measure in question probably constituted state aid within the meaning of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty and that it needed additional information to carry out the necessary appraisal. This information related mainly to the measures taken by the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia (the ‘Land’) to ensure its proper participation in additional profits which WestLB can generate on the basis of the capital transferred, the effects of the inadequate liquidity content of the transferred capital, the effects of the fact that the Land’s influence on WestLB had not increased, the effects of the preferential nature of the fixed remuneration and of any other aspect determining the appropriate level of remuneration, the level of Wfa capital available to underpin WestLB’s commercial business, the value of the amount exceeding this sum but shown in WestLB’s balance sheet, the tax exemptions, the waiver of liability, the profitability of WestLB and the alleged synergies. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Commu- nities (}). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the measure. It received comments from WestLB (19 May 1998), the Association Frangaise des Banques (26 May 1998), the British Bankers’ Association (2 June 1998) and BdB (4 June 1998). By letter of 15 June 1998 it forwarded them to Germany for its () See footnote 1.