By Patricia Kowsmann
LISBON--Portuguese lender Banco BPI SA said late Tuesday that it
will participate in the first round of the bidding process for Novo
Banco SA.
Novo Banco kept the "good" assets, including loans and deposits,
of Banco EspĂSHYrito Santo SA, which had to be broken up and bailed
out in August following heavy losses from its exposure to its
troubled parent.
Under the bailout, Novo Banco received a capital injection of
4.9 billion euros ($6.1 billion) from a domestic resolution fund,
which included money from both the state and other domestic banks.
The plan is to sell the lender so the fund can get its money
back.
Parties must express their interest in buying the bank by Dec.
31.
Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa has said binding offers
for Novo Banco are due in the middle of the second quarter next
year.
The chief executive of Spain's Banco Santander SA said last
month that the bank would look at buying opportunities in Portugal,
where it already owns a lender.
Officials from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd.
were recently in Lisbon and asked the Bank of Portugal and the
government about Novo Banco, according to a person familiar with
the situation.
Earlier this month, Novo Banco presented details of its balance
sheet, reporting a Common Equity Tier I of 9.2%, deposits of
EUR25.1 billion and a credit portfolio of EUR43.8 billion, of which
72% were loans to companies. It reported credit at risk of default
of 13.8% from the total portfolio.
Write to Patricia Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com
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