Portugal's economy explained: GDP data, market trends, business developments, inflation, real estate, and economic policy. Analysis of how economic trends affect daily life and expat finances.
The European Central Bank has revoked the authorisation of Banco Empresas Montepio, the small corporate bank Montepio had spent three years trying to sell to the fintech Rauva for €35 million. With no licence left, the deal is dead — though Banco Montepio's own customers are untouched.
New Justice Ministry figures show Portugal's court-ordered debt-collection backlog has fallen from 770,000 cases to 350,000 and average waits are at a decade low — but 50 enforcement agents have been expelled in ten years, and seven more are suspended. What it means if you owe money here, or are owe
Eighteen months after Portugal rewrote its rules to turn rural land urban for housing, the reform has produced only 27 reclassification requests — and the government cannot say how many are actually for homes. Why the flagship supply-side fix has barely moved the needle.
Mergers and acquisitions involving Portuguese companies were worth about €4.5 billion across 289 deals in the first seven months of 2026, the consultancy TTR Data reports — with the number of transactions down 28% on a year earlier as dearer financing cooled the market.
The expert group led by economist Jorge Bravo has delivered its report on the future of Social Security — covering complementary savings, early retirement and the TSU — but the government is holding it back until a disclosure event 'in the coming weeks,' as opposition parties demand to see it. What
A Bank of Spain study puts Portugal's 2021-2025 housing shortfall at about 300,000 homes — 6.6% of all households, proportionally deeper than Spain's — against a near-zero eurozone average. Why a central-bank number matters for anyone renting or buying here.
Foreign visitors reclaimed €88.6 million in Portuguese VAT on their shopping last year, and four nationalities — Brazil, the US, Angola and China — drove more than half the receipts, most of it in Lisbon. Portugal is banking on higher-value tourists over higher volumes.
