BPCE Lines Up António Horta Osório as Vice-Chairman of Novo Banco, Marking His Return to Portuguese Banking

BPCE, the French mutual banking group that took control of novobanco in April, has invited António Horta Osório to join the Portuguese lender's board as a non-executive vice-chairman, bringing the country's most internationally seasoned banker back into the sector he left more than two decades ago. The invitation was extended directly by BPCE's chief executive, and the appointment must first clear a fit-and-proper assessment by the Banco de Portugal (Bank of Portugal) before it can take effect.

The new owners have been at pains to stress that the move changes nothing at the top of the executive line. Mark Bourke, the Irish banker who has run novobanco since 2019 and steered it back to sustained profitability, stays on as chief executive. Horta Osório's role would be a supervisory one, sitting on the board rather than in day-to-day management.

Who he is

António Horta Osório, 62, is arguably the best-known Portuguese figure in international finance. He ran Banco Santander's operations in Portugal and later in Brazil before taking charge of the Spanish group's British arm, Abbey, which became Santander UK. In 2011 he was appointed chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, then still 43% owned by the British state after its crisis-era bailout; over the following decade he returned the bank to full private ownership and to paying dividends, a turnaround that made his name in the City of London.

His subsequent spell as chairman of Credit Suisse was short-lived: appointed in 2021, he resigned in early 2022 after acknowledging breaches of Covid-19 quarantine rules. Since leaving front-line banking he has held a range of board and advisory positions.

Why it matters

The appointment is the clearest signal yet of how BPCE intends to run its new Portuguese acquisition. Lone Star Funds, the US private-equity firm that had owned the bulk of novobanco since 2017, completed the sale to BPCE at the end of April in a deal that valued the bank at around €6.7 billion — one of the largest banking transactions in recent Portuguese history and the moment novobanco, the lender carved out of the 2014 collapse of Banco Espírito Santo, finally passed into the hands of a long-term strategic owner rather than a financial investor.

Bringing in a figure of Horta Osório's standing gives the French group both local credibility and a heavyweight with direct experience of integrating and turning around large retail banks. For a buyer that has promised to keep novobanco's brand and Lisbon headquarters, the choice reads as a statement of intent rather than a ceremonial hire.

What this means for customers and residents

• No immediate change at the branch: novobanco keeps its name, its network and its management. Account holders should notice nothing different in the near term.
• A bigger balance sheet behind your bank: BPCE is one of Europe's largest banking groups, which strengthens novobanco's funding position and long-term stability — relevant if you hold deposits, a mortgage or savings products there.
• Watch for product and pricing shifts: new ownership of this scale typically brings a strategic review. Over the coming year, expect movement on fees, digital services and the range of accounts on offer.
• Deposits remain protected: as with any bank operating in Portugal, eligible deposits are guaranteed up to €100,000 per depositor by the Fundo de Garantia de Depósitos (Deposit Guarantee Fund), regardless of who owns the institution.

The Banco de Portugal review is the last formal hurdle. Assuming it clears — and there is no public suggestion it will not — Horta Osório's return will close a long arc that began when he first ran a bank in Lisbon in the 1990s, and will put a familiar name at the table as novobanco begins life under French control.