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2014/885/EU: Commission Decision of 29 April 2014 on the State aid SA.34825 (2012/C), SA.34825 (2014/NN), SA.36006 (2013/NN), SA.34488 (2012/C) (ex 2012/NN), SA.31155 (2013/C) (2013/NN) (ex 2010/N) implemented by Greece for the Eurobank Group related to: Recapitalisation and Restructuring of Eurobank Ergasias S.A.; Restructuring aid to Proton bank through creation and capitalisation of Nea Proton and additional recapitalisation of New Proton Bank by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund; Resolution of Hellenic Postbank through the creation of a bridge bank (notified under document C(2014) 2933) Text with EEA relevance

2014/885/EU: Commission Decision of 29 April 2014 on the State aid SA.34825 (2012/C), SA.34825 (2014/NN), SA.36006 (2013/NN), SA.34488 (2012/C) (ex 2012/NN), SA.31155 (2013/C) (2013/NN) (ex 2010/N) implemented by Greece for the Eurobank Group related to: Recapitalisation and Restructuring of Eurobank Ergasias S.A.; Restructuring aid to Proton bank through creation and capitalisation of Nea Proton and additional recapitalisation of New Proton Bank by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund; Resolution of Hellenic Postbank through the creation of a bridge bank (notified under document C(2014) 2933) Text with EEA relevance

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 108(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof,

Having called on Member States and other interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to those provisions(1),

Whereas:

    HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

    Article 1

    1.

    The following measures implemented or planned by Greece constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty:

    1. the emergency liquidity assistance provided to Eurobank Ergasias SA. (‘Eurobank’) by the Bank of Greece and guaranteed by Hellenic Republic (measure L2);

    2. the second bridge recapitalisation of EUR 1 341 million granted by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (‘HFSF’) to Eurobank in December 2012 (measure B2);

    3. the commitment letter of EUR 528 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank on 21 December 2012 (measure B3);

    4. the recapitalisation of EUR 5 839 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank in May 2013 (measure B4);

    5. the recapitalisation commitment of EUR 2 864 million granted by the HFSF following the EUR 2 864 million share capital increase approved by the extraordinary meeting of shareholders on 12 April 2014 under the HFSL law 3864/2010 as amended (measure C);

    6. the capital injection of EUR 395 million granted by the HFSF to Nea Proton Bank on 28 August 2013 (measure NP3).

    2.

    In the light of the restructuring plan relating to the Eurobank Group (Eurobank Ergasias S.A and all its subsidiaries (Greek and non-Greek subsidiaries and branches, both banking and non-banking).submitted on 16 April 2014 and the commitments provided by Greece on 16 April 2014, the following State aid is compatible with the internal market:

    1. the capital injection of EUR 950 million granted by Greece to Eurobank in May 2009 under the Recapitalisation Scheme (measure A);

    2. the emergency liquidity assistance provided to Eurobank by the Bank of Greece and guaranteed by Greece since July 2011, for an amount of EUR 12 billion as of 31 December 2012 (measure L2);

    3. the first bridge recapitalisation of EUR 3 970 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank in May 2012 (measure B1);

    4. the second bridge recapitalisation of EUR 1 341 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank in December 2012 (measure B2);

    5. the commitment letter of EUR 528 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank on 21 December 2012 (measure B3);

    6. the recapitalisation of EUR 5 839 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank in May 2013 (measure B4);

    7. the recapitalisation commitment of EUR 2 864 million granted by the HFSF to Eurobank following the EUR 2 864 million share capital increase approved by the extraordinary meeting of shareholders on 12 April 2014 under the HFSL law 3864/2010 as amended (measure C);

    8. the capital injection of EUR 80 million granted by Greece to Proton Bank in May 2009 (measure Pr1);

    9. the financing of the total funding gap of EUR 1 121,6 million by the Hellenic Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund (HDIGF) and the HFSF to the activities transferred from Proton Bank to Nea Proton Bank, in October 2011 and May 2012 (measure NP1);

    10. the total capital injection of EUR 515 million granted by the HFSF to Nea Proton Bank in October 2011, February 2012, August 2012 and December 2012 (measure NP2);

    11. the capital injection of EUR 395 million granted by the HFSF to Nea Proton Bank on 28 August 2013 (measure NP3);

    12. the financing of the total funding gap of EUR 677 million by the HDIGF and the HFSF to activities which were transferred from T Bank to Hellenic Postbank (‘TT Bank’), in December 2011 and February 2013 (measure T);

    13. the capital injection of EUR 224,96 million granted by Greece to TT Bank in May 2009 (measure TT);

    14. the financing of the total funding gap of EUR 3 732,6 million by the HFSF to the activities transferred from TT Bank to New Hellenic Postbank (‘New TT Bank’), in January and June 2013 (measure NTT1);

    15. The capital injection of EUR 500 million granted by the HFSF to New TT Bank on 29 January 2013 (measure NTT2).

    Article 2

    This Decision is addressed to the Hellenic Republic.

    Done at Brussels, 29 April 2014.

    For the Commission

    Joaquín Almunia

    Vice-President

    ANNEX

    EUROBANK — COMMITMENTS BY THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC

    The Hellenic Republic shall ensure that the Bank is implementing the restructuring plan submitted on 16 April 2014. The restructuring plan is based on macroeconomic assumptions as provided by the European Commission (the ‘Commission’) in Appendix as well as regulatory assumptions.

    The Hellenic Republic hereby provides the following Commitments (the ‘Commitments’) which are integral part of the restructuring plan. The Commitments include the commitments regarding to the implementation of the restructuring plan (the ‘Restructuring Commitments’) and the Commitments on Corporate Governance and Commercial Operations.

    The Commitments shall take effect upon the date of adoption of the Commission’s decision approving the restructuring plan (the ‘Decision’).

    The restructuring period shall end on 31 December 2018. The Commitments apply throughout the restructuring period unless the individual Commitment states otherwise.

    This text shall be interpreted in the light of the Decision in the general framework of Union law, and by reference to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/99.

    CHAPTER I

    DEFINITIONS

    For the purpose of the Commitments, the following terms shall mean:

    (1)Bank:
    Eurobank Ergasias S.A. and all its subsidiaries. Therefore, it includes the entire Eurobank Group with all its Greek and non-Greek subsidiaries and branches, both banking and non-banking.
    (2)Capital accretive bid in the banking sector:
    a bid which results in an increase in the regulatory capital ratio of the Bank, taking into account all relevant elements, in particular the profit/loss booked on the transaction and the reduction of RWA resulting from the sale (if necessary corrected for the increase of RWA resulting from remaining financing links).
    (3)Capital accretive bid in the insurance sector:
    a bid which results in an increase in the regulatory capital ratio of the Bank. Any bid above the book value of the insurance activity in the account of the Bank is automatically assumed to be capital accretive.
    (4)Closing:
    the date of transfer of the legal title of the Divestment Business to the Purchaser.
    (5)Divestment Business:
    all the businesses and assets that the Bank commits to sell.
    (6)Effective Date:
    the date of adoption of the Decision.
    (7)End of restructuring period:
    31 December 2018.
    (8)Foreign assets or non-Greek assets:
    assets related to the activities of customers outside Greece, independently of the country where the assets are booked. For instance, assets booked in Luxembourg but related to the activities of customers in Greece are not included in the scope of this definition. Conversely, assets booked in Luxembourg or Greece but related to the activities of customers in other SEE countries are considered as foreign assets and are included in the scope of this definition.
    (9)Foreign businesses:
    foreign banking and non-banking subsidiaries and branches of the Bank.
    (10)Foreign subsidiaries:
    all banking and non-banking subsidiaries of the Bank outside Greece.
    (11)Greek banking activities:
    the Bank’s Greek banking activities independently from where the assets are booked.
    (12)Greek non-banking activities:
    the Bank’s Greek non-banking activities independently from where the assets are booked.
    (13)Greek subsidiaries:
    all Greek banking and non-banking subsidiaries of the Bank.
    (14)Monitoring Trustee:
    one or more natural or legal person(s), independent from the Bank, approved by the Commission and appointed by the Bank; the Monitoring Trustee has the duty to monitor the Bank’s compliance with the Commitments.
    (15)Purchaser:
    one or more natural or legal person(s) to acquire, in whole or in part, the Divestment Business.
    (16)Sale:
    the sale of 100 % of the shareholding held by the Bank, unless the individual Commitment states otherwise.

    For the purpose of the Commitments, the singular of those terms shall include the plural (and vice versa), unless the Commitments provide otherwise.

    CHAPTER II

    RESTRUCTURING COMMITMENTS

    (1)Number of branches in Greece:
    The number of branches in Greece shall amount to […] at the maximum on 31 December 2017.
    (2)Number of employees in Greece:
    The number of Full Time Equivalents (the ‘FTEs’) in Greece (Greek banking and non-banking activities) shall amount to […] at the maximum on 31 December 2017.
    (3)Total costs in Greece:
    The total costs in Greece (Greek banking and non-banking activities) shall amount to EUR 800 million at the maximum on 31 December 2017.
    (4)Costs of deposits in Greece:
    In order to restore its pre-provisioning profitability on the Greek market, the Bank shall decrease the cost of funding through the decrease of cost of deposits collected in Greece (including savings, sight and term deposits, and other similar products offered to customers and which costs are borne by the Bank) […].
    (5)Ratio net loans to deposits in Greece:
    For the Greek banking activities, the ratio net loans to deposits shall amount at the maximum to 115 % on 31 December 2017. […]
    (6)Support to foreign subsidiaries:

    For each foreign subsidiary, cumulatively from the Effective Date until 30 June 2018, the Bank shall not provide additional equity or subordinated capital for an amount larger than the higher of (i) […] % of the RWA of that subsidiary on 31 December 2012 or (ii) EUR […] million. If the Bank intends to inject equity or subordinated debt to the foreign subsidiary for an amount higher than the defined threshold, it must request the Greek Authorities to seek a Commission decision to amend the restructuring plan.

    […]

    1. […]

    2. […].

    3. […]

    4. […]

    5. […]

    […]

    (7)Deleverage of non-Greek assets by 30 June 2018 :

    The total size of the portfolio of foreign assets shall be reduced to a maximum amount of EUR 8,77 billion by 30 June 2018.

    1. If the Bank receives an additional aid larger than EUR 1 billion and lower than the notified aid amount, then the total size of the portfolio of foreign assets shall be reduced to a maximum amount of EUR 3,5 billion by 30 June 2018. If the sale of foreign businesses is used to reach that target, the closing of each sale shall not be later than 31 December 2018.

    2. […]

    3. […]

    (8)Sale of insurance activities:

    The sale of the insurance activities (life and non-life) shall be completed (i.e. closed) by […]. […]

    The Bank and its advisers shall invite potential buyers to submit a bid for a minimum 80 % shareholding and the Bank shall indicate its willingness to enter into a bank assurance partnership agreement, offering its distribution network, and to retain up to 20 % minority stake.

    (9)Sale of Real Estate subsidiary:
    The Bank shall reduce its participation to 20 % in Eurobank Properties REIC by 31 December 2016. […]
    (10)Sale of equity investments, subordinated bonds and hybrid bonds:
    The book value of the Bank’s (excluding the regulated insurance subsidiaries) portfolio of securities defined as follows, shall be lower than EUR 35 million by 31 December 2015. […]
    (11)For any sale, the Hellenic Republic commits that:

    1. The Purchaser shall be independent of and unconnected to the Bank;

    2. For the purpose of acquiring the Divestment Business, the Purchaser shall not be financed directly or indirectly by the Bank;

    3. The Bank shall, for a period of 5 years after the closing of the sale, not acquire direct or indirect influence over the whole or part of the Divestment Business without a pre-approval from the Commission.

    (12)Investment policy:

    Until 31 December 2017, the Bank shall not purchase non-investment grade securities.

    […]

    (13)Salary cap:
    Until […], the Bank will not pay to any employee or manager a total annual remuneration (wage, pension contribution, bonus) higher than […]. In case of a capital injection from HFSF, the remuneration cap will be re-evaluated according to the European Banking Communication of 1 August 2013.

    CHAPTER III

    COMMITMENTS ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS — PROLONGATION AND AMENDMENTS

    (1) The Bank shall continue to implement the Commitments on Corporate Governance and Commercial Operations, as submitted by the Hellenic Republic on 20 November 2012, with the subsequent amendments provided in Chapter III of the Commitments, until 30 June 2018. Regarding Eurobank Properties REIC, the Commitments provided in Chapter III, Section A (4) (i.e. compliance with the HFSF Relationship Framework), Section C (paragraph (27)) (Dividend, Coupon, Repurchase, Call and Buy Back ban), Section C (paragraph (28)) (Acquisition ban), as well as Chapter IV (Monitoring Trustee), shall cease to apply to the subsidiary from the moment the shareholding of the Bank in Eurobank Properties REIC is reduced below […] %.

    (2) In case an individual Commitment does not apply at the Bank’s level, the Bank shall not use the subsidiaries or activities not covered by that individual Commitment to circumvent the Commitment.

    Section A

    Setting up an efficient and adequate internal organisation

    (3) The Bank, excluding its foreign subsidiaries, shall abide at all times with the totality of the provisions of law 3016/2002 on Corporate Governance and law 2190/1920 on the Sociétés Anonymes and especially the provisions in connection to the functions of corporate bodies such as the shareholders’ meeting and Board of Directors in order to secure a clear distribution of responsibilities and transparency. The powers of the shareholders’ meeting shall be restricted to the tasks of a general meeting in line with company law, in particular as regards rights related to information. More extensive powers, which would allow improper influence on management, shall be rescinded. Responsibility for day-to-day operational management shall clearly rest with the executive Directors of the Bank.

    (4) The Bank, excluding its foreign subsidiaries, shall comply at all times with the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (the ‘HFSF’) Relationship Framework.

    (5) The Bank shall abide by the provisions of Governor’s Act 2577/9.3.2006, as in force, in order to maintain, on an individual and a group basis, an effective organisational structure and an adequate Internal Control System including the three key pillars, namely the Internal Audit, Risk Management and Compliance functions and best international corporate governance practices.

    (6) The Bank shall have an efficient organisational structure, so as to ensure that the Internal Audit and the Risk Management departments are fully independent from commercial networks and report directly to the Board of Directors. An Audit Committee and a Risk Committee — created within the Board of Directors — shall assess all issues raised by those respective departments. An adequate Internal Audit Charter and Risk Management Charter shall specify the roles, responsibilities and resources of those departments. Those charters shall comply with international standards and secure a full independence to the departments. A Credit Policy shall provide guidance and instructions regarding the granting of loans, including the pricing of loans and the restructuring of loans.

    (7) The Bank shall make public to the competent authorities the list of shareholders holding at least 1 % of ordinary shares.

    Section B

    Commercial practices and risk monitoring

    General principles

    (8) The Credit Policy shall specify that all customers shall be treated fairly through non-discriminatory procedures other than those related to credit risk and ability to pay. The Credit Policy defines the thresholds above which the granting of loans must be approved by higher levels of management. Similar thresholds shall be defined regarding the restructuring of loans and the handling of claims and litigations. The Credit Policy shall centralise in selected centres the decision-making process at national level, and provide clear safeguards to ensure a consistent implementation of its instructions within all the Greek banking activities.

    (9) For all the Greek banking activities, the Bank shall fully incorporate the Credit Policy rules in their loan origination and loan refinancing workflow and disbursement systems.

    Specific provisions

    (10) The specific provisions listed in paragraphs (8) to (18) of Chapter III of the Commitments shall apply to the Greek banking activities, unless explicitly stated otherwise

    (11) The Credit Policy shall require that the pricing of loans and mortgages to comply with strict guidelines. Those guidelines shall include the obligation to respect strictly the credit policy’s standard tables of interest rate bands (ranges) depending on the maturity of the loan, the credit risk assessment of the customer, the expected recoverability of pledged collateral (including the time frame to a potential liquidation), the overall relationship with the Bank (e.g. level and stability of deposits, fee structure and other cross-sales activities) and the funding cost of the Bank. Specific loan asset classes are generated (e.g. commercial loan, mortgage, secured/unsecured, etc.) and their pricing framework is tabulated to an appropriate Credit Policy table that shall be updated on a regular basis by the Credit Committee. Any exception must be duly authorised by the Credit Committee, or at lower level of authority when allowed by the Credit Policy. Tailor-made transactions such as syndicated loans or project finance shall respect the same principles, with due account being taken of the fact that they may not fit in standardised credit policy tables. Infringements of that pricing policy shall be reported to the Monitoring Trustee.

    (12) The Risk Management Department shall be responsible for the assessment of credit risk and the valuation of collateral. When assessing the loan quality, the Risk Management Department shall act independently, providing its written opinion so as to ensure that criteria used in the assessment are applied consistently over time and among customers and in respect of the Bank’s credit policy.

    (13) Regarding loans to individuals and legal entities, for all the Greek banking activities, on the basis of the best international practices, the Bank shall apply strict individual and aggregated limits governing the maximum loan amount that can be granted to a single credit risk (if at all allowed under Greek and EU law). Those limits shall take into account the maturity of the loan and the quality of any collateral/security provided and shall be set against key benchmarks including against capital.

    (14) Granting loans(1) to enable borrowers to purchase shares or hybrid instruments of the Bank and other banks(2) shall be prohibited, whoever are those borrowers(3). This provision shall apply and shall be monitored at the Bank’s level.

    (15) All loan requests by non-connected borrowers greater than [[…] % of the Bank’s RWA] or any loan which keeps the exposure to one group (defined as a group of connected borrowers that represent a single credit risk) higher than [[…] % of the Bank’s RWA] shall be reported to the Monitoring Trustee, which may, if the conditions do not appear to be set at arm’s-length or if no sufficient information has been provided to the Monitoring Trustee, postpone the granting of the credit line or the loan by […] working days. In emergency cases, that period may be reduced to […] working days provided sufficient information has been provided to the Monitoring Trustee. That period will enable the Monitoring Trustee to report the case to the Commission and the HFSF before any definitive decision is taken by the Bank.

    (16) The Credit Policy shall give clear instructions on the restructuring of loans. It clearly defines which loans are eligible, under which circumstances, and indicates the terms and conditions that can be proposed to eligible customers. For all the Greek banking activities, the Bank shall ensure that all restructurings aim at enhancing the future recoveries by the Bank, thus safeguarding the interest of the Bank. In no case the restructuring policy will jeopardise the future profitability of the Bank. For that purpose, the Bank’s Risk Management Department shall be responsible for developing and deploying adequate restructuring effectiveness reporting mechanisms, for performing in-depth analyses of internal and/or external best practices, reporting its findings at least on a quarterly basis to the Credit Committee and the Board Risk Committee, suggesting actionable improvements to the processes and policies involved and oversee and reporting on their implementation to the Credit Committee and the Board Risk Committee.

    (17) For all the Greek banking activities, the Bank shall enact a claim and litigation policy aiming at maximising recovery and preventing any discrimination or preferential treatment in the management of litigations. The Bank shall ensure that all necessary actions are taken to maximise the recoveries for the Bank and protect its financial position in the long-term. Any breach in the implementation of that policy shall be reported to the Monitoring Trustee.

    (18) The Bank shall monitor credit risk through a well-developed set of alerts and reports, which enable the Risk Management Department to: (i) identify early signals of loan impairment and default events; (ii) assess recoverability of the loan portfolio (including but not limited to alternative repayment sources such as co-debtors and guarantors as well as collateral pledged or available but not pledged); (iii) assess the overall exposure of the Bank on an individual customer or on a portfolio basis; and (iv) propose corrective and improvement actions to the Board of Directors as necessary. The Monitoring Trustee shall be given access to that information.

    Provisions applying to connected borrowers

    (19) All the provisions applying on connected borrowers shall apply at the Bank’s level.

    (20) Within the Credit Policy, a specific section shall be devoted to the rules governing relations with connected borrowers. Connected borrowers include employees, shareholders, directors, managers, as well as their spouses, children and siblings and any legal entity directly or indirectly controlled by key-employees (i.e. employees involved in the decision-making process of the Credit Policy), shareholders, directors or managers or their spouses, children and siblings. By extension, any public institution or government-controlled organisation, any public company or government agency shall be considered as a connected borrower. Political parties shall also be treated as connected borrowers in the Credit Policy. Particular focus shall be on decisions regarding any restructuring and write downs of loans to current or former employees, directors, shareholders, managers and their relatives as well as policies followed in the appropriateness, valuation, registration of liens and foreclosure of loan collateral. The definition of connected borrowers has been further specified in a separate document.

    (21) The Risk Management Department shall be responsible for the mapping of all connected groups of borrowers that represent a single credit risk with a view to properly monitoring credit risk concentration.

    (22) Regarding loans to individuals and legal entities, the Bank, on the basis of the best international practices, applies strict individual and aggregated limits governing the maximum loan amount that can be granted to a single credit risk which relates to connected borrowers (if at all allowed under Greek and EU law).

    (23) The Bank shall monitor separately its exposure to connected borrowers including the public sector entities and political parties. The new production of loans(4) to connected borrowers (annual % of Y-1 stock(5)) shall be no higher than the new production of the total loan portfolio in Greece (annual % of Y-1 stock). That Commitment shall be complied with separately for each type of connected borrower (employees, shareholder, managers, public entities, political party). The credit assessment of the connected borrowers, as well as the pricing conditions and possible restructuring offered to them, shall not be more advantageous compared to conditions offered to similar but unconnected borrowers, in order to secure a level-playing field in the Greek economy. That obligation does not apply to existing general schemes benefiting employees, offering them subsidised loans. The Bank shall report every month about the evolution of that exposure, the amount of the new production and the recent requests greater than [[…] % of the Bank’s RWA] to be addressed at the Credit committee.

    (24) The credit criteria applied to employees/managers/shareholders shall be no less strict than those applied to other, non-connected borrowers. If the total credit exposure to a single employee/manager/shareholder exceeds an amount equal to a [[…]] fixed salary for secured loans and an amount equal to a [[…]] fixed salary for unsecured loans, the exposure shall be reported promptly to the Monitoring Trustee who may intervene and postpone the granting of the loan pursuant to the procedure described in paragraph (25) of Chapter III of the Commitments.

    (25) All loan requests by connected borrowers greater than [[…] % of the Bank’s RWA] or any loan which keeps the exposure to one group (defined as a group of connected borrowers that represent a single credit risk) higher than [[…] % of the Bank’s RWA] shall be reported to the Monitoring Trustee, which may, if the conditions do not appear to be set at arm’s-length or if no sufficient information has been provided to the Monitoring Trustee, postpone the granting of the credit line or the loan by […] working days. In emergency cases, that period may be reduced to […] working days provided sufficient information has been provided to the Monitoring Trustee. That period will enable the Monitoring Trustee to report the case to the Commission and the HFSF before any definitive decision is taken by the Bank.

    (26) The restructuring of loans involving connected borrowers shall comply with the same requirements as for non-connected borrowers. Furthermore, established frameworks and policies to deal with troubled assets shall be assessed and improved, if necessary. However, it is expected that restructured loans of connected borrowers shall be reported separately, at least per loan asset class and connected borrower type.

    Section C

    Other restrictions

    (27)Dividend, Coupon, Repurchase, Call and Buy Back ban:

    Unless the Commission otherwise agrees to an exemption, the Hellenic Republic commits that:

    1. The Bank shall not pay any coupons on hybrid capital instruments (or any other instruments for which the coupon payment is discretionary) or dividends on own funds instruments and subordinated debt instruments other than where there is a legal obligation to do so. The Bank shall not release reserves to put itself in such a position. In case of doubt as to whether, for the purpose of the present Commitment, a legal obligation exists, the Bank shall submit the proposed coupon or dividend payment to the Commission for approval;

    2. The Bank shall not repurchase any of its own shares or exercise a call option in respect of those own funds instruments and subordinated debt instruments;

    3. The Bank shall not buy back hybrid capital instruments.

    (28)Acquisition ban:

    The Hellenic Republic commits that the Bank shall not acquire any stake in any undertaking, be it an asset or share transfer. That ban on acquisitions covers both undertaking which have the legal form of a company and any package of assets which forms a business(6).

    (i)Exemption requiring Commission’s prior approval: :
    Notwithstanding that prohibition, the Bank may, after obtaining the Commission’s approval, and, where appropriate, on a proposal of the HFSF, acquire businesses and undertakings if it is in exceptional circumstances necessary to restore financial stability or to ensure effective competition.
    (ii)Exemption not requiring Commission’s prior approval: :

    The Bank may acquire stakes in undertakings provided that:

    1. The purchase price paid by the Bank for any acquisition is less than [[…] %] of the balance sheet size(7) of the Bank at the Effective Date of the Commitments(8); and

    2. The cumulative purchase prices paid by the Bank for all such acquisitions starting with the Effective Date of the Commitments until the end of the restructuring period, is less than [[…] %] of the balance sheet size of the Bank at the Effective Date of the Commitments.

    (iii)Activities not falling under the acquisition ban: :
    The acquisition ban shall not cover acquisitions that take place in the ordinary course of the banking business in the management of existing claims towards ailing firms.
    (29)Advertising ban:
    The Hellenic Republic commits that the Bank shall refrain from advertising referring to state support and from employing any aggressive commercial strategies which would not take place without the support of the Hellenic Republic.

    CHAPTER IV

    MONITORING TRUSTEE

    (1) The Hellenic Republic commits that the Bank shall amend and extend the mandate of the Monitoring Trustee approved by the Commission and appointed by the Bank on 22 February 2013 until the end of the restructuring period. The Bank shall also broaden the scope of that mandate to incorporate the monitoring of (i) the restructuring plan and (ii) all Commitments set out in this catalogue.

    (2) Four weeks after the Effective Date of the Commitments, the Hellenic Republic shall submit to the Commission the full terms of the amended mandate, which shall include all provisions necessary to enable the Monitoring Trustee to fulfil its duties under those Commitments.

    (3) Additional provisions on the Monitoring Trustee are specified in a separate document.

    Appendix