“The new major challenge, in the short term, for Banco Português de Fomento will undoubtedly be to respond successfully and efficiently to the structuring and distribution of financial instruments supporting the economy, namely that of the PRR [Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência] and InvestEU,” said Celeste Hagatong in Matosinhos.
The official spoke at the presentation session of the new governing bodies of the BPF (Ana Carvalho will be the executive chairman), which took place at the Porto Business School, attended by the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the Minister of Economy and Sea, Antonio Costa Silva.
Celeste Hagatong pointed out that the new European financial instruments are “very demanding in terms of their regulatory aspects of design and implementation, particularly due to their implementation times”.
“Banco Português de Fomento must continue to identify and remedy the identified deficiencies in the financial market, in order to provide the appropriate response to businesses in addition to the offer of financial institutions such as banks and funds,” he added.
To this end, and in the shortest term, Celeste Hagatong recalled the “transfer to Banco Português de Fomento of all ECA allocations”, which is currently partially implemented by COSEC”, and considers this “a priority”.
Determined by the joint broadcast of the finance ministers [Fernando Medina] and the economy [António Costa Silva] that these negotiations between Banco de Fomento and COSEC should take place by December 31, 2022 at the latest,” Celeste Hagatong proposed an extension of the deadline due to the new government taking office.
“We are sure that this deadline will be extended,” he said in Matosinhos.
The official also said that export credit insurance for higher risk countries, with a state guarantee, is “an activity and a tool to be promoted for the growth and dynamism of the Portuguese economy”.
Celeste Hagatong also added that the BPF “will review all internal procedures”, focusing on “the efficiency with which aid provided by it or under its management reaches the market”.
Costa wants Banco de Fomento to finance the economies of scale of national companies
The Prime Minister, António Costa, defended at the presentation ceremony of the new government in Matosinhos that the Banco Português de Fomento (BPF) should help national companies to gain scale.
Emphasizing that “the function of Banco Português de Fomento is not to be just a bank, but to be the bank that other banks are not”, and “must complement what the activity of other banks is”, because it is “complementary” is, António Costa discovered a difference between the European and American economies.
“One of the major differences between the European economies and the US economy is the ability to finance risk,” as well as “what is on the frontier of innovation, which is the greatest added value and added value of the future,” he said . at the ceremony that took place at the Porto Business School.
According to the prime minister, this difference is also in the “ability to invest in capital and quasi-capital in companies that need to scale up so that micro becomes small, small medium, medium and large global”.
“This implies that there are banks of the nature of Banco Português de Fomento to carry out this mission,” defended António Costa at the ceremony marking Celeste Hagatong’s transition to Chairman of the Board of Directors (“Chairman”, non- executive) and Ana Carvalho as the executive chairman of the BPF.
António Costa recalled that the other state-owned bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), “plays a fundamental role” in the national financial system, but is “purely competitive with other banks”.
BPF, on the other hand, “is the state bank that is different from other banks,” said Costa, saying that the government will contribute to having “a bank that fulfills its function and is an important factor in the stabilization of the financial system”, CGD, and another “which fulfills its function of being a great support for the innovation and modernization of companies”.
Earlier, in his speech on stability, António Costa had already stated that “the first and best contribution that the state can make is to ensure the stability of the macroeconomic framework”, as well as “the stability of the financial system”.
“It is necessary to continue to pursue a policy, namely fiscal, investment-friendly,” he also said, stressing that the state budget for 2023 should “encourage companies that invest in their technological modernization, in their innovation capacity and in the improvement of their human resources so that they can increase their productivity and competitiveness in the global economy”.
At the end of the session, António Costa left without speaking to journalists.
Source: DN
