Lisbon, April 23, 2026 (Lusa) - The sale of Novo Banco to the French banking group Banque Populaire et Caisse d'Epargne (BPCE) will be concluded next week, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento confirmed on Thursday.
“Next week, the purchase of Novo Banco by BPCE will be finalised,” he said at the end of Thursday’s cabinet meeting.
He spoke regarding the sale of TAP, saying that the process was entering a new phase as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa were invited to submit binding bids, characterising the partial divestment of TAP and the sale of Novo Banco as two major transactions, adding that the process for the financial institution would be completed within days.
The sale of the bank resulting from the resolution of ‘Banco Espírito Santo’, BES bank empire, in 2014 to the French group BPCE was agreed in 2025.
The bank is currently owned by the American private equity firm Lone Star (75%) and the Portuguese state (25%).
A general meeting is scheduled for 29 April to appoint three new members to the General and Supervisory Board.
The 'Público' Portuguese newspaper reported that outgoing members include Kambiz Nourbakhsh, Mark Andrew Coker, and Evgeniy Kazarez, and that the new appointees have not yet been announced.
The executive CEO of Novo Banco, Irishman Mark Bourke, will remain in his post, but the French group will bring in new names for senior leadership positions.
When the purchase agreement was first announced, BPCE CEO Nicolas Namias met with staff to assure them that the group’s investment in Portugal is intended for the long term (unlike Lone Star’s investment).
Novo Banco was established in 2014 to take over part of the BES banking operations when, in August 2014, the bank was subject to a resolution measure due to the severe crisis it was facing.
In 2017, a majority stake in Novo Banco (75%) was sold to Lone Star, with the Portuguese state retaining the remainder (25%).
As part of that sale, an arrangement was agreed under which the Bank Resolution Fund would compensate Novo Banco for ‘toxic’ assets inherited from BES.
In the following years, the Resolution Fund injected €3.405 billion into the bank, sparking various political and media controversies over the use of public money.
With the early termination of this mechanism at the end of 2024, it becomes possible to sell the bank and pay dividends.
In June 2025, Novo Banco’s shareholders agreed to its sale to BPCE for €6.4 billion, with the agreements being signed in October 2025.
With the sale, Lone Star will receive €4.8 billion, and the Portuguese state will receive €1.6 billion.
PCT/MYAL // ADB.
Lusa
