By: ELOISE WALTON
MADEIRA-BASED Banco Internacional do Funchal, Banif bank, has opened a new branch in the Algarve and is due to open two more in the region this summer as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.
Marques dos Santos, President of the bank’s executive commission, announced the opening in the Algarve, a region that represents six per cent of the bank’s total activity, during a conference in Faro.
A spokesman for Banif told The Resident: “Our bank opened a new branch in Alvor on June 30 and is due to open another branch in Vila Real de Santo António this month, followed by another in Albufeira in August.”
Exact opening dates of the new branches in Albufeira and Vila Real are not yet available because they are still undergoing construction and installation work according to the spokesman.
“The opening of these branches in the Algarve is part of a national expansion plan which has been planned until 2010,” said the spokesman.
Market study
“Banif has done several studies to decide where best to open new branches and diversify the bank’s presence as well as better serve its customers.”
The three new branches join 16 others that are already open in the region. Banif also has a business centre in Faro and an office in Portimão which contribute to the more than 450 Banif sales points around Portugal.
“The Algarve, Madeira and the Azores are markets that we will continue to be exploring,” said Marques dos Santos.
The commemorations of Banif’s 20th anniversary started on January 15 in the city of Funchal in Madeira and will continue throughout the year, with conferences planned for Viseu, Porto, Ponta Delgada, Braga, Viana do Castelo and Aveiro.
For more information about Banif bank, please visit the website, available in Portuguese, at www.banif.pt
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