The President of the MillenniumBCP confirmed today that the bank wants to buy Novo Banco.
Nuno Amado said that this would only be possible if he can get authorisation from the European Commission due to rules over State aid.
"If we have the opportunity to analyse the process we will do so. But do not depend on us. At this point, it depends on the negotiations between the Portuguese State and the European Commission, because we have an impediment ", said Amado at a press conference today.
The issue is the €750 million of CoCos that BCP has not yet paid back to the Portuguese taxpayer but Nuno Amado said he will request authorisation from the European Central Bank this month for BCP to repay up to €250 million of these financial instruments.
"I think it's important, because we are entering a decisive phase of the sale process” said Amado adding that the sale arranged by the Bank of Portugal is different to is last effort as this time Novo Banco must be sold.
"It is essential that this process has the largest number of possible competitors and as diverse as possible. In this sense, the ideal was that some Portuguese financial institutions could compete," said BCP’s chairman.
"If they give us the option, we will study the process,” concluded Amado, adding that it would not be easy for BCP to put in a bid due to its current level of State aid so not to depend on BCP being there in the bidding.
This is the first Portuguese bank to admit that it is interested in Novo Banco and the sales roadshow has yet to throw up any foreign buyers.
Stock da Cunha and Sérgio Monteiro went to New York in March to start the Novo Banco sale roadshow. Monteiro, the €25,000 a month hire was appointed by the Resolution Fund to sell Novo Banco but no minimum price was specificed in his contract.
The Bank of Portugal needs to raise a minimum of €4.9 billion to repay the money it borrowed from the Resolution Fund and the taxpayer.
The last sales process was pulled as the two Chinese contenders in the final round of talks would not offer more than €1.2 billion for the bank over concerns of unlimited liabilities noted by auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Bank of Portugal governor Carlos Costa will be preparing for the inevitable flack when Novo Banco is sold off at below the minimum required and many see this as the opportune time for the already discredited banker to offer his resignation which will be accepted gladly by the prime minister.
