Lisbon, July 22, 2025 (Lusa) - The president of Portugal's Competition Authority (AdC) stated on Tuesday in parliament that the inquiry into the banking sector should be completed by the end of the year, and that this process may result in recommendations for banks, the Bank of Portugal, and the government.
The AdC announced today that it will launch an inquiry into retail banking in Portugal to assess competition conditions in the banking market. The inquiry aims to identify factors that can help compare banking products, details that support customers in contracting banking products and measures that streamline switching between banks, as well as any barriers and limitations influencing the entry of new companies (including digital platforms or non-banking entities) into the financial sector.
At a hearing of the parliamentary committee on budget and finance, the president of the AdC, Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, said that after the AdC receives responses to the consultation launched today (which participants can submit until 24 September), the AdC expects to have its “conclusions by the end of the year” and that these “may lead to recommendations”.
“We will analyse the results and, if necessary, they will give rise to specific recommendations to operators, sectoral regulators or the legislator,” said Nuno Cunha Rodrigues.
According to him, the financial sector is sensitive to market power, primarily due to regulatory and technological barriers and information asymmetry, which is why it is “essential to ensure that competition remains a transformative force” and promotes freedom of choice for consumers.
The AdC president also spoke about the regulator’s recent interventions, considering that it has acted in a “coherent, impartial and independent manner, determined and based on evidence”.
In the banking sector, in 2019, the AdC imposed fines totalling €225 million on 14 banks for concerted practices involving the exchange of sensitive commercial information, in the case known as the ‘banking cartel’.
In September 2024, the Competition Court upheld the fines imposed on the 11 banks that appealed.
However, last February, the Lisbon Court of Appeal declared the administrative offence time-barred, counting the time during which the matter was under review by the European courts.
Both the AdC and the Public Prosecutor’s Office lodged appeals with the Constitutional Court to try to stop the time-barring, but the Constitutional Court rejected them. In June, the AdC complained to the Conference of Constitutional Judges, seeking review of the latter’s decision to dismiss the appeals; the Conference is currently considering the matter.
In 2024, the AdC imposed a fine of almost €14 million on the SIBS group for abuse of a dominant position in the payment services sector. The company said it would appeal, arguing that the case “has no basis”. The case is currently before the Competition Court, and a decision has yet to be issued.
When MPs questioned the president of the AdC about the purchase of Novo Banco by the French banking group BPCE, the AdC president stated that the European Commission is responsible for assessing the impact of this operation on the sector.
IM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa/
