The Assistant Secretary of State to the Treasury, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, at last has had a formal platform to heap blame on the Bank of Portugal Governor, Carlos Costa, for the collapse of Banif and for its its bungled rescue which could cost the taxpayer up to €3 billion.
Ricardo Mourinho Félix reaffirmed his conviction that the Governor of the Bank of Portugal committed a serious error by not informing the government about the Banif negotiations he was involved in with the European Central Bank.
The Assistant Secretary of State, appearing at the Banif parliamentary committee of inquiry, rejected Carlos Costa’s argument that he was "unable to provide information to government on the state of Banif."
Ricardo Mourinho Félix has been working away trying to arrange liquidity for Banif at the end of 2015 while at the same time the Governor of the Bank of Portugal was telling the European Central Bank to restrict liquidity while not informing the government what he was doing.
"The explanations given to me are unfounded," said Ricardo Mourinho Félix, who recalled that the European Treaty did not ban the sharing of information regarding Banif, but Carlos Costa insisted on working without reference to government.
"What is written in the European Union treaty is not that I can not be told, is that I can not influence a Bank of Portugal decision."
Mourinho Félix said that the 2013 recapitalization of Banif was another mistake as in his opinion the injection of €1,100 million "was not a wise solution" by the previous government team whom he accused also of delaying any action on Banif due to the looming October 2015 elections.
"The recapitalisation of the bank was a political choice, it is clear that it was not the right solution."
As for the fire sale of Banif to Santander, the Assistant Secretary of State to the Treasury said it would have been better to sell it to Caixa Geral de Depósitos, thereby keeping Banif in State hands while a long term solution was developed.
Carlos Costa's drawfull of excuses by now must nearly be empty yet he remains in post, each month costing the taxpayer more as bank after bank collapses under his watchful eye.
