The National Court annuls fines of $100 million to four large Spanish banks

The Audiencia upheld appeals filed by Santander, BBVA, Sabadell and Caixabank against the supervisory body's resolutions of Feb. 13, 2018.

MADRID, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Spain's National Court has annulled 91 million euros ($100 million) in fines imposed on four Spanish banks, including Santander and BBVA , for selling interest rate derivatives above market rates to their clients.

The Spanish competition authority imposed the fines after finding that the banks, which also included Caixabank and Sabadell , had priced above market rates for derivatives used to hedge the interest rate risk associated with syndicated loans for project finance.

The Audiencia said in a statement that it has not been accredited that during the entire period under investigation, from 2006 to 2016, there was a common plan between the sanctioned entities that justifies the legal qualification of single and continuous infringement.

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) had imposed fines of €31.8 million on Caixabank, €23.9 million on Santander, €19.8 million on BBVA and €15.5 million on Sabadell.

The decision of the Audiencia Nacional is not final and can be appealed.

The CNMC declined to comment.

(1 U.S. dollar = 0.9121 euros)

(Report by Jesús Aguado; edited in Spanish by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)