Government: Banking news in Portugal

Latest news and stories about banking in government in Portugal for expats and residents.

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Bank of Portugal governor divests shares held while in office

🏛️ Government 💶 Finance#regulation+3 more

The Banco de Portugal confirmed that its governor, Álvaro Santos Pereira, has sold shares he purchased while in office. The divestment followed contact with the European Central Bank (Banco Central Europeu or BCE), which prohibits such holdings for officials in his position. The governor had previously acquired shares in companies including Galp and Jerónimo Martins.

Álvaro Santos Pereira is a Portuguese economist who served as Minister of Economy from 2011 to 2013. He is a frequent public commentator on economic and public-policy issues and has used X and LinkedIn to call for radical changes to Portugal’s disaster preparedness after recent storms, so residents and policymakers often pay attention to his proposals.

5 sources →27 Apr

Bank of Portugal governor divests shares held while in office

Over 7,000 clients join bank loan moratoriums

💶 Finance 🏛️ Government#investment+3 more

Approximately 7,400 families and companies affected by recent severe weather have joined government-decreed bank moratoriums. Deputy Governor of the Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal or BdP) Clara Raposo confirmed that the total credit amount covered by these measures reached 930 million euros by the end of March.

Banco de Portugal is Portugal's central bank, founded in 1846. It is a member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurosystem, working alongside the European Central Bank (ECB) to implement monetary policy in the euro area.

Its main functions include supervising banks and financial institutions, ensuring financial stability, managing Portugal's gold and foreign currency reserves, and producing economic research and statistics. It also operates the payment systems infrastructure and issues banknotes.

Banco de Portugal is led by a Governor — currently Mário Centeno (since 2020) — who also sits on the ECB's Governing Council. For residents, the central bank matters because it regulates the banks they use, sets macroprudential rules (such as mortgage lending limits), and provides a complaints mechanism for banking disputes.

2 sources →21 Apr

Over 7,000 clients join bank loan moratoriums

Bank of Portugal defends Mário Centeno’s €2.2 million retirement deal

💶 Finance 🏛️ Government#public-spending+2 more

Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) Governor Álvaro Santos Pereira stated that a retirement agreement with his predecessor, Mário Centeno, will save the institution €2.2 million in future salary and social security costs. The Governor emphasized that the pension will be paid by the bank's own pension fund and will not cost taxpayers anything. Tax-paying residents should note that the agreement settles the former Governor's status as he transitions out of his remaining consultant role.

Governor of Banco de Portugal (2020–present)
Former: Minister of Finance (2015–2020), President of the Eurogroup (2018–2020)
Party: Independent (PS-affiliated)
Background: Economist (PhD, Harvard)

Mário José Gomes de Freitas Centeno (born 1966) is Portugal's central bank governor and one of the country's most internationally recognized economic figures. As Finance Minister under António Costa's first PS government, he became known as "Cristiano Ronaldo of European finance" for turning Portugal's deficit into a surplus while reversing austerity.

He was elected president of the Eurogroup (the informal body of euro area finance ministers) in 2018 — the first Portuguese to hold the role. Since becoming Governor of Banco de Portugal in 2020, he sits on the ECB's Governing Council and oversees Portuguese banking supervision and financial stability.

5 sources →20 Mar

Bank of Portugal defends Mário Centeno’s €2.2 million retirement deal

Chega summons central bank governor over Centeno pension controversy

🏛️ Government 💶 Finance#chega+3 more

André Ventura, leader of the Chega party, has summoned the Governor of the Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal), Álvaro Santos Pereira, to explain a pension agreement for his predecessor. The controversy involves former governor Mário Centeno, who reportedly reached a deal to retire at 59 with a pension nearly equal to his full salary of approximately 20,000 euros per month. Residents should note this follows reports of a “hidden agreement” regarding the early retirement.

André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.

His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.

Governor of Banco de Portugal (2020–present)
Former: Minister of Finance (2015–2020), President of the Eurogroup (2018–2020)
Party: Independent (PS-affiliated)
Background: Economist (PhD, Harvard)

Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.

The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.

7 sources →15 Mar

Chega summons central bank governor over Centeno pension controversy

Recent articles

"Slanderous denunciation" turned seven weeks of a businessman's dream life into several years of nightmare

⚖️ Legal 💶 Finance 🏛️ Government ₿ Crypto#banking+3 more

A Portuguese businessman saw his legitimate cryptocurrency venture collapse after a slanderous denunciation led to years of legal scrutiny and frozen assets, despite the Public Prosecutor's Office eventually clearing him of all wrongdoing.

cnnportugal.iol.pt1 Jun

"Slanderous denunciation" turned seven weeks of a businessman's dream life into several years of nightmare

Newly created groups, fintech, and American company compete for Caixa's banking license in Brazil

💶 Finance 🏛️ Government#banking+2 more

Caixa Geral de Depósitos is divesting its Brazilian banking operations, attracting interest from four entities including fintechs and an American firm, marking the end of the last major Portuguese bank's presence in the country.

Público3 Apr