Lisbon, June 26, 2026 (Lusa) - The chief executive of the French group BPCE, which owns Portugal's Novo Banco, said on Friday that he wants the bank to remain profitable whilst balancing this objective with long-term growth, particularly in the corporate sector.

“We want to maintain profitability in balance with the bank’s long-term development. It’s not all about profitability,” said Nicolas Namias at a meeting in Paris with Portuguese journalists visiting the BPCE group’s headquarters.

According to the CEO, BPCE’s strategy for Novo Banco is a long-term one – “there is no set timeframe; it’s for 200 years…” – and the aim is to grow, starting with small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies, to which he said BPCE’s experience and expertise in France will be brought.

Since 2017, Novo Banco had been majority-owned by the US fund Lone Star (75%, with the Portuguese State holding the remaining 25%), and it was well known that, from the outset, Lone Star’s objective was to make Novo Banco profitable in order to sell it and generate capital gains. The sale was finalised in April this year for €6.7 billion (Lone Star received around €5 billion and the Portuguese State €1.673 billion).

Nicolas Namias stated that, at a time when many banking groups are downsizing, the BPCE group’s aim is to grow, using accumulated capital to invest, and to become “one of Europe’s leading players”.

Novo Banco, he emphasised, is part of that strategy.

“We are a long-term shareholder. (...) The big difference is how we manage time; it is a long-term approach, which is very important for a cooperative group,” he stressed.

Regarding the integration of Novo Banco into the BPCE group, including processes and organisational culture, he estimated that it would take around two and a half years.

When asked about the provision of insurance to Novo Banco customers, he reiterated what he had said in Portugal at the end of May: that the plan is to offer insurance products to serve customers, but that it has not yet been decided how this will be implemented.

Jornal Económico reported that BPCE is in the final stages of acquiring the life insurance company GamaLife, managed by the British firm Apax Partners.

BPCE is France’s second-largest banking group (the largest being Crédit Agricole), with a market share of 21%.

In the Paris area, where BPCE has its headquarters in a large tower (one of the tallest in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower), and where 9,000 people work, the name Novo Banco already appears on the wall of the building’s entrance hall, alongside what have so far been the group’s main brands: Banque Populaire, Caisse d’Espargne and Naxitis.

The group was formed in 2009 through the merger of Caisse d’Espargne, Banque Populaire and Naxitis.

Caisse d’Epargne was founded in 1818 as a savings bank; Banque Populaire was founded in 1878 as a cooperative bank to support businesses; and Naxitis was founded in 1919 to finance the reconstruction of France’s infrastructure following the First World War.

In 2009, they merged to form the BPCE group.

“It is a group with deep roots in the real economy,” said Nicolas Namias, adding that the cooperative banking group currently has 35 million customers, 10 million of whom are cooperative shareholders and receive dividends.

Following the move into Portugal, Nicolas Namias stated that the group will continue to seek further opportunities, both in Europe and globally.

Although they are part of the same group, Caisse d’Epargne, Banque Populaire and Naxitis are managed autonomously (there are 15 Caisse d’Epargne and 14 Banque Populaire branches, each with its own autonomous management), with BPCE at the head of the group, setting the strategy and consolidating the results.

Novo Banco, said the CEO of BPCE, will operate in the same way, with its board working autonomously.

Regarding Novo Banco’s staff, he stated that decisions would rest with the board, chaired by Mark Bourke, and that the decision to distribute bonuses to staff (equivalent to two months’ salary) was one of the first he had taken as the new owner, in conjunction with the board, and that he had done so to recognise the staff’s hard work.

When asked whether Novo Banco would resume holding press conferences to present its results – a practice that ended with Mark Bourke’s appointment as chief executive in 2022 – Nicolas Namias declined to comment.

In the first quarter of this year, the BPCE group posted profits of €1 billion, up 21% on the previous year.

Novo Banco posted profits of €200.7 million between January and March.

IM/AYLS // AYLS

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