The European Commission has approved France’s plan to extend compensation worth €682 million to La Banque Postale for providing nationwide access to basic banking services from 2027 to 2029.
France notified the Commission of the extension of a scheme that entrusts La Banque Postale with a “service of general economic interest” — an EU term for a public service that may be supported by the state under certain conditions — to ensure banking accessibility across the country, the EU executive informed on Tuesday.
The mission guarantees universal, free-of-charge and unconditional access to basic banking services through the Livret A, a state-regulated savings account.
The Livret A combines a savings product with access to essential banking transactions.
France has updated the compensation mechanism to reflect “evolving market conditions”, while the mission itself remains unchanged.
Earlier approvals and state aid rules
The Commission previously approved compensation for the same mission covering 2009 – 2014, 2015 – 2020 and 2021 – 2026, according to its statement.
It assessed the extension under EU state aid rules, including Article 106(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the 2012 framework governing services of general economic interest.
The Commission found the compensation is limited to the net cost of providing the public service, excluding the risk of overcompensation, and approved the measure on that basis.
A non-confidential version of the decision is due to be published under case number SA.121101 in the Commission’s state aid register once confidentiality issues have been resolved.
