Mutualist pays 4.8 million to prevent the State from becoming a shareholder

The Montepio Geral Mutualist Association will spend around €4.8 million to prevent the State from becoming a shareholder in Banco Montepio, an official source from the mutualist told Lusa.

At issue is the deferred tax asset regime, which gives the state the right to convert tax credits from which a bank has benefited into shares in that bank, thereby becoming a shareholder. To avoid this, shareholders can purchase the rights, which is what mutual fund Montepio, as the owner of Banco Montepio, will do.

"We confirm Montepio Geral Associação Mutualista's intention to exercise its potestative right to acquire conversion rights, within the current REAID (Special Regime Applicable to Deferred Tax Assets) framework. Regarding the amount, we estimate it will be approximately €4.8 million," an official source told Lusa.

This news was reported on Wednesday by the newspaper Público .

Banco Montepio has scheduled a general meeting for the end of July, on the 31st, to deliberate on “the increase in Banco Montepio’s share capital” and the conditions for the exercise by shareholders of the “potestative right to acquire conversion rights held by the State”.

The Montepio Geral Mutualist Association is the pinnacle of the Montepio Group, which owns several companies, most notably the bank. The mutualist association currently has over 600,000 members and posted profits of €210 million in 2024 (an 87.5% increase compared to 2023).

Banco Montepio's profits reached a historic high of 109.9 million euros in 2024 (almost four times more than in 2023).