The good Irishman who ‘sold’ Novobanco

Mark Bourke’s schedule has probably never been as busy as it has been over the last two years. The Irishman travelled the world with the mission of selling Novobanco and Portugal’s image as a good place to invest. He had more than 400 meetings with investors from Europe, the US and the Middle East, with every second counting.

Perhaps that is why, when interest arose from France’s BPCE, Bourke asked them to be specific. He did not want to waste time on interactions that would lead nowhere. “That’s how he is: very focused on the essentials and not easily distracted by the secondary”, a bank director told ECO.

Among employees, it is believed that if the sale of Novobanco was successful, it was due to the high competence of its leader, a 59-year-old Irishman who arrived in Lisbon about seven years ago and who understands Portuguese better than he speaks it.

“No one ever thought it could be sold for that amount. He did a great job”, observes a bank manager.

“Mark managed the whole process with great focus. He was the great coordinator and conciliator because at the same time he was preparing the bank for the IPO”, recalls a director.

He himself admits that it was “the best IPO that ever existed”. Although the plan to go public fell through, it was not for lack of interest. “I could have done the IPO twice”, he admitted in an interview with Bloomberg.

€6.4 billion? “Not very normal”

Mark Bourke also garners respect and admiration from his peers. This was already the case before the sale, but it only helped to confirm his good reputation. “When there was talk a few months ago of a figure of five billion for Novobanco, I also had my doubts, and it was sold for €6.4 billion. That’s a price-to-book ratio of 1.6 times, which isn’t very normal”, said Pedro Castro e Almeida, CEO of rival Santander Portugal, who had previously praised the Irishman for contributing to Portugal’s good image abroad.

“It’s great to have a French bank paying what it paid for a Portuguese bank. (…) The fact that there are European investors interested in investing in Portugal demonstrates the country’s attractiveness”, Castro e Almeida stressed.

For the banks, the sale of Novobanco is the best news they could have received. The Resolution Fund will receive around €860 million from this transaction. The money will help reduce the debt to the state and ease the burden that will weigh on the sector in the coming decades.

The new owner also believes that Mark Bourke has done a “great job” and sees no reason to change.

“Let’s be clear: Novobanco has become one of the most profitable banks in Europe (…). The management has done an excellent job and, of course, I will be counting on their commitment”, said Groupe BPCE CEO Nicolas Namias when he announced the purchase deal two months ago.

Fan of Portugal and kitesurfing in Caparica

Bourke also wants to stay here. He likes Portugal and the beach. He is a fan of kitesurfing, which he practises frequently in the waves of Costa da Caparica.

He arrived in Lisbon in 2019 to take up the position of financial administrator. He came from the intervened Allied Irish Banks, which he helped sell on the stock exchange — his good work earned him the distinction of best CFO for the Irish Times in 2018.

The goal was to do the same here. When he took the reins at Novobanco in 2022, following the departure of António Ramalho, the bank had already completed its tough restructuring and losses were a thing of the past. The Americans at Lone Star were already thinking about selling and wanted to take advantage of Bourke’s experience in Ireland.

All that remained was to end the contingent capital agreement (CCA), the infamous mechanism through which the bank received not only millions in injections from the Resolution Fund (€3.5 billion in total) to cover losses from toxic assets inherited from BES, but also political wrath in recent years.

At the end of last year, when Novobanco got rid of the CCA, Bourke gathered the workers at the new headquarters in Tagus Park and toasted with champagne the beginning of a new chapter without the chains of the State.

Zero tolerance for those who mistreat workers

He is very well regarded among workers. They appreciate the informal and relaxed, but also rigorous, profile of their top boss. That is why they welcomed the news that the new boss is counting on Mark Bourke to lead the bank’s next chapter.

“He’s a bit different from the profile we associate with a banker. I’ve never seen Mark wearing a tie. Not even at conferences with other bankers. But that doesn’t mean he lacks authority’, says another source. ‘He inspires confidence and is very genuine”, she adds.

“He is very pro-worker. When we want something done, we immediately show him the figures of how much it will cost the bank so as not to waste time”, reveals the coordinator of the workers’ committee, Liliana Felício.

“He has zero tolerance for those who mistreat workers”, she adds.