On September 24, 2019, the General Court annulled a €33.6 million fine imposed on HSBC for its participation in the euro interest rate derivatives cartel,[1] and on the same day the General Court rejected Printeos’ appeal against the re-imposed fine for its participation in the envelope cartel.[2] Both cases relate to the methodology the Commission applied in calculating the fines and its transparency in that regard. While the General Court found that the Commission provided insufficient reasoning for the applied methodology in calculating the amount of fine it imposed on HSBC, it rejected Printeos’ argument that the Commission breached the right to equal treatment because it applied a different methodology in calculating the fines imposed on the envelope cartel participants.

[1]      HSBC Holdings and Others v. Commission (Case T-105/17) EU:T:2019:675.

[2]      Printeos and Others v. Commission (Case T-466/17) EU:T:2019:671.