The president of the Single Resolution Board (JUR), Elke König, has testified this Thursday in the National Court within the cause that investigates the resolution of Banco Popular. However, as already happened when he went to the Congressional Committee to report on this issue, has evasively answered key questions on which it was expected to have a response from the European body.
Asked by the investigating judge of the case, José Luis Calama, and by the defense and accusation lawyers, König has avoided providing novel data. But one of the most tense moments in the room has been when he defended that his statements to Bloomberg of May 23, 2017, advancing that the resolution body he heads was “looking at” the case of Popular they did not have an effect on the markets.
Just over a month later, in June of that year, El Popular was resolved in the context of a huge liquidity crisis and purchased for one euro by Banco Santander. However, König has explained that his statements were taken out of context, according to sources familiar with the statement to EL ESPAÑOL Invertia.
The judge had summoned König to testify to try to clarify, among others, how the output of more than 5,000 million euros came about in deposits, while stocks plummeted in the last weeks of the bank’s life.
The president of the FROB in Spain himself, Jaime ponce, assured the judge in May that he sent two formal complaints to König by email to express concern about the news that was appearing in the international media from the SRB and pointing to the bank’s poor health.
That same day, another key testimony was heard at the National Court, that of the Director of Resolution of the FROB, Javier Torres Riesco, who assured Calama that the JUR procedure was not carried out in accordance with the norm and that they were not prepared to activate the resolution process.
In addition, Torres acknowledged that the reports commissioned by the SRB from Deloitte were not prepared in accordance with the standard and qualified as “not very transparent” the procedure resolution. Clarifying these issues is vital to the case.
Don’t remember, don’t know
Calama has asked König, without obtaining a clear answer, about the resolution and recovery plans that all banks comply with on a mandatory basis, but which in this case were not applied. The German auditor has often grasped the “I do not remember”or even to ignorance of documents during questioning.
Upon emails and specific meetings did not want to provide information to the judicial investigation of the National Court.
Given this attitude, the accusations have pressured König to ask why the necessary liquidity was not given to Popular and what happened to ALS (emergency liquidity assistance or line to assist banks with liquidity problems).
At this point, the president of the SRB explained that as the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is studying the caseYou cannot comment on it in the National Court.
They have also asked him about the bank capital plan, for divestment operations, for the sale of TotalBank (its subsidiary in Florida that ended up selling Santander) or by the interest for 50% of Wizink.
In addition, it has come to light in the questions the Deloitte report that the SRB did not allow Congress to see of the Deputies. And one meeting with Emilio Saracho in March 2017, which he has downplayed by stating that superficial issues were addressed.
With all this, the feeling left in the Madrid court by the person in charge of this body that was created in the heat of the Banking Union has not been very different from that of December 2017, when with the bank already resolved, it went to the Hemicycle to account for their performance. Many questions remain unanswered.
Follow the topics that interest you
Reference-www.elespanol.com