The former Caixa Geral de Depósitos president, António Domingues, has refused to stay on "for another few days" contrary to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, published last Friday.
It was essential that Domingues stayed on until the succession of Paulo Macedo has been confirmed by the European Central Bank but he has left the chairman’s office empty and the State-owned bank close to rudderless with just four directors remaining.
Caixa Geral now has no leader and its board is unable to form the necessary quorum to take decisions in possibly the most important month of the bank's history.
Finance Minister, Mário Centeno, had asked António Domingues to stay on, a courtesy that would be expected of an outgoing chairman aware that the ECB might take a few weeks to approve his replacement.
In a statement issued this morning to newsrooms by an embarrassed Ministry of Finance, confirmation was given that "António Domingues declined the request to stay in office for another few days."
The refusal most likely is related to the requirement that Domingues would need to submit a new income and asset statement to the Constitutional Court if he remained in office for any time during 2017.
Domingues, who resigned on November 25th, 2016 over his refusal to submit his tax and asset statements, stated in his resignation letter that he would only stay on for a month into the new year if there were 'the legal conditions' in place for him to do so, presumably that he need not present his tax and asset statements.
The bank now has no leader with the Finance Ministry clinging to the hope that the situation will be resolved by January 10th when the ECB should approve Macedo and his new team, but this date is by no means certain.
The Finance Ministry says the bank is being run by Rui Vilar, João Tudela Martins, Tiago Ravara Marques and Pedro Leitão, the four directors who did not resign over the tax and asset statement row - and that everything is just fine. It isn’t: this is not the smooth changeover that was expected after the damaging spat and board resignations caused such adverse publicity for Caixa Geral, Domingues and the minister.
António Domingues
The all-important bank recapitalisation is scheduled to take place on January 4th but with no quorum and just four directors holding the fort, it is not certain if this vital step will go ahead.
The refusal by António Domingues to help effect a smooth management transition shows again what a poor choice he was to run the taxpayer-owned bank.
It started badly when Domingues screwed a vastly enhanced salary and bonus scheme from a weak Finance Minister, then he refused to supply his tax and asset statement as required from those running State-owned companies. He later supplied the statements as long as they remained hidden from scrutiny: hardly the point at all.
Domingues' resignation was welcome and his subsquent uncooperative action has displayed his true colours.
Hopefully, Paulo Macedo, even though taking the higher salary negotiated by Domingues, will have some grasp of the ethics inherent in public service and will not have taken the job just to see how much he can get out of it.
