Bank of Portugal “approves” EuroBic buyer
The Bank of Portugal governor says the Galician bank "has the conditions" and "is credible" to buy EuroBic, where Isabel dos Santos is leaving.
The European Central Bank (ECB), in liaison with the Bank of Portugal, shall approve or not the purchase of EuroBic by the Spaniards of Abanca. But for Carlos Costa, governor of the national supervisor, the Galician bank meets the conditions to acquire the financial institution that Isabel dos Santos put up for sale following the Luanda Leaks controversy.
The operation “will be analysed by Bank of Portugal and the ECB at its own time. It is not an unknown entity, it is supervised by the Bank of Spain, Bank of Portugal and the ECB. (…) It has conditions for us to admit that it is a credible and interested buyer,” Carlos Costa said in Parliament.
Carlos Costa recalled that Abanca recently purchased the branch network of Caixa Geral de Depósitos in Spain and the Deutsche Bank network. “In all these moments it was submitted to criteria of suitability,” said the governor.
According to the governor, “unless something surprising happens that I would find strange,” the ECB and the Bank of Portugal will authorize Abanca to acquire EuroBic.
“We have to wait for the ongoing process to end, between private entities. And that they communicate to the Bank of Portugal that they are willing to carry out the operation,” Carlos Costa said.
Regarding the origin of Abanca’s funds to buy EuroBic, “it will result from the entity’s own capital,” assures Carlos Costa. “It will have the capacity to make the operation,” the governor says.
Isabel dos Santos put her 42.5% in EuroBic for sale following the controversy surrounding the Luanda Leaks case. Last month, Abanca reached an agreement to acquire at least 95% of the bank’s capital. A thorough due diligence analysis of the bank is underway and will be completed in early April. Only after this analysis will Abanca and EuroBic shareholders formalize the agreement.
