Armour-plated against approaches
The cover of a recent edition of Portuguese magazine Exame announced the failure of Iberianization. Portugal and Spain, it suggested, remain stubbornly apart, and attempts to forge closer links between the two countries have amounted to little. As if on cue, the latest opportunity to build a meaningful relationship between leading Spanish and Portuguese banks disappeared.
On May 17 it was announced that an agreement and cross-shareholding between Spain's new banking superpower, Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH), and Portugal's largest private bank, Banco Comercial Português (BCP), was to be dissolved. The following day each bank repurchased its shares from the other. Iberianization, it seems, failed again.
Portugal's largest listed companies Market cap (€bn) 1 Portugal Telecom 5.9 2 Banco Comercial Português 5.5 3 EDP (Electricidade de Portugal) 5.1 4 TELECEL - Comunicações Pessoais 3.2 5 Banco Espírito Santo Comercial Lisboa 2.9 6 Jerónimo Martins, SGPS 2.3 7 BPI-SGPS. 2.2 8 Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor 2.1 9 Banco Português do Atlântico 2.0 10 Cimpor-Cimentos Portugal-SGPS 1.9 Total 48.9 Source: Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa It was an outcome that found favour with local investors.