The study identifies market practices that may have
collusive outcomes.
On April 8, 2019, the European Commission published its
long-awaited "study on loan syndication in the EU and its
impact on competition in credit markets." While the study
refrains from considering syndicated loans anti-competitive, it
identifies a number of market practices that could potentially have
collusive outcomes. As a result, it should be in the interest of
all market participants to review the study and to identify any
potential for improving existing practices.
The study — written by Europe Economics and a law firm
— was performed on the basis of available economic literature
as well as 43 interviews with 37 lenders. It focuses on the
analysis of the competitive conditions in the syndicated loan
markets in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the
United Kingdom.
