The EU Court of Justice confirms that the Italian deposit guarantee scheme intervention in support of a bank did not constitute State aid (Banca Popolare di Bari)

On March 2, 2021, in dismissing the appeal brought by the European Commission against the judgment of the EU General Court in the Tercas case, the EU Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling on the standard of proof for the imputability to the State of support measures granted by private entities and the assessment under State aid rules of deposit guarantee scheme interventions in bank restructurings. 1. Background: the FITD’s intervention and the Commission’s decision The Fondo Interbancario di Tutela dei Depositi (“FITD”) is the main Italian deposit guarantee scheme (“DGS”). It is a consortium of banks originally established on a voluntary basis in 1987, to pursue the common interests of its members. Following the transposition of Directive 94/19/EC on DGSs into the Italian legal