LISBON – The Portuguese arm of Spanish banking giant Santander (NYSE: SAN) would consider a potential acquisition of rival Novo Banco, depending on price, Santander Totta’s CEO said on Tuesday.
In September three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Novo Banco’s owner, U.S. private equity firm Lone Star, could move forward with a sale as well as an initial public offering (IPO) of Portugal’s fourth-largest bank.
Asked if Santander Totta was interested in acquiring Novo Banco, CEO Pedro Castro Almeida said his bank may need to look beyond organic growth that has become very constrained in Portugal’s mature banking market.
“It’s a question of opportunity and it’s a question of price. So we’re here to look at all the opportunities,” Castro Almeida told a conference.
The top five Portuguese banks, which also include state-owned Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD), Millennium bcp, and Caixabank’s Banco BPI, control more than 80% of the nation’s banking assets. But, analysts see room for further consolidation as a means to improve competitiveness.
Miguel Maya, CEO of Millennium bcp, said he would “analyze all opportunities” provided they create value, adding that the priority is “to remunerate shareholders”.
Castro Almeida said that foreign lenders without a presence in Portugal were less likely to buy Novo Banco.
