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credits. Even though the clients may get these services from other banks,
they may find the products more attractive and get better deals from
the provider banks which make their wages payment due to customers’
habitudes, also privileges granted by banks such as cheaper interest rates
on consumer credits or interest free credit cards and lower transaction
cost for the fund transfer to other banks.
As seen, the interest of both parties’ - the clients and the banks - is not
based on only electronically transferred wages system but also include all
other retail or personal banking services.
Relevant Geographical Market.
The Board determined the relevant
geographical market as “Turkey” by taking into account that banking
services are provided country-wide.
Evaluation of the Allegations
Prohibition to Grant Promotions to Private Companies.
The banks
acquire the possibility to find amultitude of clients / funds to cross-sell their
personal banking products by offering promotions to private companies.
Therefore, it is not wrong to ascertain that the promotion offers by banks
to institutions constitutes the main competition instrument among banks.
However, the Board, on the basis of the documents and information
obtained within the investigation, stated that banks have agreed not to
grant promotions to private companies in 2001 and that this agreement
was actively implemented until 2009. Consequently, the agreement
between banks is considered to be in contradiction with competition rules
since it eliminates the basic competition instrument among them.
Prohibition to Make Offers to Companies Which Are Parties of
a Protocol.
Banks, taking into account the amount of the promotion
that they will offer to institutions, enter into protocols with them for a
period, which will be beneficial to them. Thus, the early termination
of the protocols may result in damage for the banks. Thence, banks
may apply different solutions in order to prevent the early termination
of the protocols. Nonetheless, these solutions must not limit / restrict
institutions’ rights of choice and violate competitions rules. Otherwise,
the Competition Act will be infringed.