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EU: Regulators clear Portugal’s Novo Banco sale

By  |  October 11, 2017

EU state aid regulators approved on Wednesday, October 11, the sale of Portuguese state-rescued Novo Banco and its subsequent revamp by its new owner, US private equity firm Lone Star.

The European Commission (EC) said the restructuring would ensure the bank’s long-term viability. Novo Banco was carved out of Portugal’s biggest ever bank collapse in 2014 after a €4.9 billion escue of Banco Espirito Santo.

“We have approved Portugal’s plans to grant state aid to Novo Banco under EU rules, based on the bank’s far-reaching restructuring plan and measures taken to limit distortions to competition,” EC Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

“Now it is important that the new owner successfully enacts the plan, so that that the bank can support the Portuguese economy,” she continued.

Full Content: New York Times

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