The leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL) reflected this Sunday that there is still a lack of competition and competitiveness in savings solutions, something that cannot be solved with “a little effort”, as the president suggested, but with new tools.
“In fact, there is a problem in Portugal, which is the inability to save and the country has very low levels of savings. Now I do not believe that this can be solved with a little effort,” Rui Rocha told journalists at the entrance to the executive committee of IL meeting today in Porto.
According to him, the situation can be solved by launching new savings instruments that are competitive and with adequate remuneration for Portuguese people who want to save and that also introduce competition into the system.
“If you are talking about the bank that ends up making conditions that are lower than what would be desirable from the point of view of savers, then that is achieved with such savings instruments that are competitive and that introduce competition and that also oblige the banks, in case of wanting to save yourself, to make such an effort, but because there is a competitive mechanism”strengthens.
The government announced on Friday the end of the sale of the E-series savings bonds and the creation of the new F-series, with a lower base rate.
Rui Rocha does not want to discuss whether the bank threatened or warned and understands that António Costa’s government has been held back for too long.
“It was necessary for someone to speak before the government could make decisions,” he stressed.
With regard to the expansion of the savings certificate sales network, the chairman of IL qualified the measure as positive because having one intermediary for the placement of these was not a desirable situation.
And he added: “Having more access and the possibility that the Portuguese can subscribe to other intermediaries seems good to us”.
Savings certificates will also be able to be registered in the physical networks (branches) and digital networks of banks, together with CTT and Espaços do Cidadão in the sale of this savings product.
The expansion of the CA sales network was already championed and is now being implemented through the diploma that suspended the commercialization of the E series certificates and created the F series.
Source: DN
