20.4.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L 103/19 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 22 July 1998 on aid granted by France in connection with the recapitalisation and transfer of the assets of Société de Banque Occidentale (SDBO) (notified under document number C(1998) 2406) (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (1999/262/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Atrticle 93(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having given the parties concerned the opportunity to submit their comments, in accordance with the above- mentioned Articles, Whereas: I. ARTICLE 93(2) PROCEDURE By letter dated 3 October 1996 the Commission notified the French authorities of its decision of 18 September 1998 (') to initiate the Article 93(2) procedure in respect of the aid granted to Société de Banque Occidentale () OJ L 346, 16.11.1996, p. S. (SDBO) and to Crédit Lyonnais (CL) in connection with the transfer of part of SDBO through Consortium de Réalisations (CDR) to Banque des Echanges Internatio- naux (BDEI), a CL subsidiary. CDR is the hive-off vehicle set up in 1995 under the second CL restructuring plan, for containing CL’s non-performing assets, including SDBO. The resale of the healthy part of SDBO to CL, agreed at the beginning of 1996, took place on 28 June 1996, with retroactive effect from 1 January 1996. The Commission learned by letter from CL dated 7 August 1997 that the SDBO assets in question had finally been transferred to Banque de I'lle-de-France, a CL subsidiary. The transaction was part of the Crédit Lyonnais restruc- turing plan which the Commission examined in 1995 and 1998 and approved, subject to certain conditions, in Decision 95/547/EC of 26 July 1995 giving conditional approval to the aid granted by France to the bank Crédit Lyonnais (}) and in Decision 98/490/EC (}). It was in particular stipulated in Decision 95/547/EC that the healthy parts of the banking subsidiaries hived off to CDR would either be sold off to third parties or returned to CL before 31 December 1995, so that no active banking organisation would be retained in CDR after that date. @) OJ L 308, 21.12.1995, p. 92. () OJ L 221, 8.8.1998, p. 28.