Local staff at Banco Espírito Santo do Oriente (BESOR), a subsidiary of recently formed Portuguese Novo Banco, are looking to acquire BESOR, and have prepared an acquisition plan, after Novo Banco revealed its intention to sell assets, the Times has learned.
BESOR was established in Macau in the mid-’90s by the Portuguese financial institution Banco Espírito Santo (BES), once Portugal’s largest lender by market value. A rescue plan had to be put in motion for BES recently, which involved splitting it into a “good bank” – renamed Novo Banco, housing healthy assets – and a “bad bank”, housing riskier assets.
Novo Banco was loaned EUR4.9 billion from what was left of Portugal’s European Union-led bailout fund.
Informed sources told the Times that as Novo Banco plans to sell its assets, local subsidiary staff are willing to acquire BESOR and have drafted an acquisition plan. The source added that management buy-outs in various industries aren’t unusual. Therefore, staff at BESOR has decided to involve themselves in a less common operation and acquire the bank.
Local staff believes they can steer BESOR away from the current uncertain future of the bank in Macau, and provide immediate stability to the Bank and themselves. The staff considers partial or full acquisition as NB decides.
By obtaining commercial independence, the staff will activate cooperation with all Portuguese banks, other than just NB. Hire a new CEO with local prestige and emphasize BESOR entity as a Macau bank with the natural organic growth going forward, the sources stated.
The Novo Banco in Portugal has already sold some of its assets, such as insurer Tranquilidade. Reuters also reported that EU state aid regulators are expecting Portugal to sell Novo Banco, in line with a pledge made upon approval of the EUR4.8 billion bailout.
“The acquisition plan [for BESOR] is flexible regarding strategic partnerships (…) while the plan is strict with regards to guaranteeing continuity of BESOR’s business, maintaining its core values,” the source said.
BESOR has been integrated into Novo Banco. Local media reported last month that, according to sources in the financial sector, there weren’t any reasons for concern, as BESOR presented safe indicators for the future.
After regulators uncovered potential losses on loans to other companies tied to the Espírito Santo family, BES was forced to take public money. The bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa was seeking to find private investors to inject cash, but was forced to, what he called, the last resort: public money.
Novo Banco consists mainly of former BES’ core business, taking deposits and lending to homebuyers and companies. CP
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