Banif boss Jorge Tomé estimates that more than 600 employees will be sacked by Santander in the near future and that the solution found by the Bank of Portugal and the government to avoid Banif going under, was “disastrous.”
In a statement to the television station SIC on Thursday, Jorge Tomé criticised the way the deal was done by the Bank of Portugal and the Portuguese Government with the approval of the European authorities.
Tomé said that the initial idea was to sell the 60.5% stake held by the State, but eventually the government and Bank of Portugal opted for liquidating the bank and dividing it into three parts: a "good bank" sold to Santander, a "bad bank” now in an asset management vehicle and a small part left which still is under the name Banif.
The president of Banif questions the deal, commenting that Santander has received a huge raft of assets in return for just €150 million with the Portuguese taxpayer forced to agree to €2 billion in guarantees and cover for "future contingencies."
Asked whether there was preferential treatment of Santander, Tomé said the operation took place "in a rather strange context" as the final solution "is very different from the original proposal" from the Spanish bank when the idea was to offer 60% of the shares.
In fact, Tomé suggests that the design of the deal involved a deliberate devaluation of Banif, which was sold for just €150 million.
The government decided that the assets were to be divided into good and bad, Santander "lobbied and chose the best assets ... and at the price it wanted," according to Tomé.
Banif’s president has joined the throng in his criticism of the actions of the Bank of Portugal’s governor, Carlos Costa, who failed to keep him informed as to the discussions with those interested in acquiring the company.
Costa is no negotiator, as has been seen in the botched Novo Banco sale, and his resolution to Banif’s problems was rushed after three years of thinking about it and doing nothing.
In fact, the president of Banif hints that shareholders who have seen their investment wiped out might formally complain that the Bank of Portugal’s rushed solution has cost them dearly.
