Chile: Banco Santander and Servipag merger enterse Phase 2

Chile’s National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) decided to extend the analysis period for the merger operation between Banco Santander Chile (“Santander”) and Sociedad de Recaudación y Pagos de Servicios Limitada (“Servipag”), starting on February 15 , leading into Phase 2 of the investigation. The operation consists of Santander’s local assets being bought up by Servipag (currently owned by Banco de Chile and Banco BCI) via transforming it into a public limited company.

The FNE has said that Santander is one of the main banks in the market, being a relevant player in the banking sector and in all other activities and/or markets complementary or accessory to banking activities. Servipag, on the other hand, is a company that supports bank transfers, and is a relevant player in most of the markets in which it operates.

The various relevant markets involved in the operation were analyzed, both those mentioned by the parties in their notification, and others that the Prosecutor’s Office considered equally involved. After this stage, the FNE concluded that a deeper evaluation was necessary to identify potential unilateral risks in collection, payment buttons and Web platforms, and of possible coordinated risks since, if these were verified, the operation could substantially reduce competition.

Full Content: Diario Constitucional

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