Losses || As two international banks turn their backs on Portugal – and a third is said to be seriously considering its options – news on Friday reveals that Portugal’s private banking sector is losing as much as €2.6 million per day.
In an exclusive report, Correio da Manhã newspaper claims that between them BCP, BES, BPI and Banif lost €232 million in the first three months of this year.
Worst off is BPI (Banco Português de Investimento) headed by economist Fernando Ulrich. It lost almost €105 million.
Then comes BES (Banco Espírito Santo) which saw its losses spiral from €62 million in the first quarter of 2013 to €90 million this year.
BCP and Banif actually did better this year than last, said the paper, but even so, registered losses of around €40 million each.
Only Spanish backed Santander Totta emerged in the black, with a profit of €42.1 million. This represents a whopping 312.3% increase on profits for the same period in 2013 and the bank is now said to be increasing its capital.
As Spain’s BBVA pulls out of the country (see story on this page), and Barclays throttles back (see HERE last week’s edition), Deutsche Bank is also said to be considering a full blown withdrawal.
For now, that leaves BES as the country’s largest private bank – albeit one with eye-watering losses.
Meantime, the sector prepares to be overseen by the European Central Bank – an arrangement that the Bank of Portugal claims will allow for greater competition.
