Search results

The purpose of this paper is to describe how The European Court of Justice's (ECJ) recent judgment in Asnef‐Equifax v. Ausbanc has clarified the circumstances in which financial institutions may exchange information regarding the solvency and creditworthiness of their clients without falling foul of competition law.

The paper outlines the background to the case, the judgment and provides a comment.

The judgment shows that in case of any doubt there is no substitute for a rigorous analysis of the affected market in light of the case law and general guidance from the Commission and national competition authorities, before engaging in any potentially controversial activity such as information exchange.

The paper provides insight into how financial institutions may exchange credit information without breaching competition law in the context of the ECJ judgment.

The study sets out to report and comment, from a competition law perspective, on communication between competitors.

The study outlines the facts and presents an opinion.

The study finds that communications between competitors can give rise to serious competition risks. Such risks can be managed by putting in place a compliance programme. Such a programme should make employees aware of topics to avoid and topics that are safe to discuss.

The study shows how employees need to be aware of when an issue falls within a grey area of potentially problematic issues, so that they may seek advice where required. In competition law, prevention is better than cure.