PAULO TEIXEIRA Pinto, who led Portugal’s richest and largest private bank, Millennium bcp, has lost his power struggle with Chairman and founder Gonçalves Jardim.
Originally appointed as Chief Executive Officer by Jardim, the two men disagreed over the way the bank was run, its future direction and its failure to achieve an important takeover bid for BPI (Banco Português de Investimento).
The future
Paulo Teixeira Pinto officially resigned his post as Executive President on Friday and is to be replaced by Deputy Executive Filipe Pinhal, who stated he “wants to please both the shareholders, clients and collaborators” at the bank.
The boardroom power struggle heated up in July and August as the two men fought it out to consolidate power at the highest level within the bank, at the cost of many shareholders which bailed out and withdrew their support.
The new president said that he would concentrate his efforts in creating profits for the shareholders and coming up with new packages and services for its clients.
Pinhal said that he would also direct his efforts towards instilling a sense of incentive with the bank’s staff.
On Friday the bank’s shares reacted positively to the end in uncertainty by climbing four per cent in value.
Filipe Pinhal, 60, and Gonçalves Jardim faced journalists on Friday afternoon to spread the message that “the war is over” and what was important now was “the future of the bank.”
The former CEO’s departure was also in response to the majority of his key policy proposals being rejected by shareholders and investors at the last AGM and the eventual desertion of those investors, shareholders and supporters that had backed him.
Both Teixeira Pinto and Gonçalves understood that the international sub prime crisis and interest rate rises necessitated a more prudent and less expansionist and risky approach which Teixeira Pinto had been following.
His letter of resignation and the appointment of his successor have been approved by both the Bank of Portugal and the Stocks & Shares Market Commission. (Mercado de Valores Mobilíarios).
However, there are those within the banking community that privately say that Teixeira Pinto’s departure had more to do with Gonçalves Jardim’s refusal to release the reins of power to a younger and more visionary man.
Shares in Millennium BCP closed at 3.94 Euros on Friday, up from 3.43 Euros per share last week.
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