Spain’s Banco Popular is the latest addition to the line up willing to compete to buy Novo Banco, the sanitised remains of Banco Espírito Santo.
Banco Popular has formalised its interest but it not yet committed to any purchase, neither are the other parties.
The line up so far is Banco Português de Investimento (BPI), Santander, Fosun and Apollo, and now Banco Popular which already has a branch network in Portugal.
Banco Popular is run by Ángel Ron and the expression of interest includes a stated desire to study Novo Banco in more detail to see if and how it would fit in Banco Popular’s growth plans.
Banco Popular has had a subsidiary in Portugal since 2002, when it acquired Banco Nacional de Crédito (BNC), then controlled by Portuguese businessman Américo Amorim.
According to the timetable set by the Resolution Fund which si handling the sale, interested parties have until 5pm on December 31st to register expression of interest, after which they will be allowed to see a cleansed and polished version of the Novo Banco accounts.
Indemnities have already been drafted to protect any new owner from later financial loss should BES investors including the feared Goldman Sachs successfully claim an interest and recompense from Novo Banco for its funds currently held by ‘bad bank’ BES.
So far, Spanish, American and Chinese companies have joined one Portuguese bank in expressing an interest in Novo Banco. With less than 24 hours to go before the list is finalised, Lisbon is looking to see if any further Portuguese buyers will show their hand.
