Banco Comercial Portugues Strengthens Its Capital, a Credit Positive
Last Friday, Portugal’s Banco Comercial Portugues, S.A. (BCP, B1 negative, E/caa2 stable1
) announced
that it will increase capital by €2.25 billion and repay €1.85 billion of the €3.0 billion of contingent
convertible subordinated bonds (CoCos) it received from the Portuguese government. This capital increase
is credit positive because it will allow the bank to repay state aid, while strengthening its capital. Redeeming
the CoCos will also improve the bank’s profitability given their high financial cost.
BCP has launched a €2.25 billion rights issue that will be fully underwritten by a syndicate of banks. The
capital increase, net of the redemption of the CoCos, will result in a pro forma common equity Tier 1 ratio
of 9.0% (fully loaded and as per the European Commission’s Fourth Capital Requirements Directive
criteria), up from 8.4% at the end of March 2014. This ratio is above the 7% minimum ratio required by
the European Banking Authority (EBA).
In June 2012, BCP underwent a €3 billion recapitalization in the form of CoCos, to which the Portuguese
government subscribed. The bank’s capital shortfall was related to the EBA requirement that Portuguese
banks comply with a minimum 9% core Tier 1 capital ratio.
Since then, BCP made its first redemption of CoCos in May this year, when it repaid €400 million to the
Portuguese government after having sold 49% of its non-life insurance business. The stake sale improved
the bank’s core Tier 1 by 70 basis points, which partially offset the negative effect of the CoCo
reimbursement on BCP’s solvency and accounted for one percentage point of the bank’s core Tier 1.
After concluding the announced capital increase, the bank plans to repay an additional €1.85 billion of
CoCos, leaving €750 million outstanding. BCP expects to repay the full amount of CoCos no later than the
beginning of 2016, one year ahead of schedule. According to the bank, organic capital generation will offset
this last redemption’s negative effect on its solvency.
In addition, and as a result of the reimbursement of the CoCos, BCP expects to improve its quarterly net
interest income by €50 million (compared with a total net interest income of €237 million at the end of
March 2014). As such, the redemption will also positively affect the bank’s profitability, alleviating the
downward pressure on the bank’s earnings amid a challenging operating environment.