Latest news with #Sarmento
Mint
22-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Portugal Opposes Further Increase in Spanish Banks' Presence
(Bloomberg) -- Portugal's government said Spanish banks shouldn't further increase their presence in the Portuguese market. Spanish lenders now represent about a third of Portugal's banking market, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said in an interview with television channel RTP3 on Wednesday night. 'I think that value shouldn't increase, due to a matter of concentration and of dependency.' Novo Banco SA, a Portuguese bank that's majority-owned by US private equity firm Lone Star, has said it's preparing for a possible initial public offering. Bloomberg News reported on May 9 that CaixaBank SA of Spain is among suitors exploring a potential acquisition of Novo Banco, according to people familiar with the matter. Novo Banco, Portugal's fourth-biggest lender, posted its first profit in 2021 and its net interest income climbed as central banks raised interest rates. It previously had to shed assets and sell soured debt to reduce its non-performing loan ratio, which was one of the highest in Europe after the bank emerged from the breakup of Banco Espirito Santo SA a decade ago. 'The decision on Novo Banco is up to Lone Star,' Sarmento said. 'If Lone Star decides to sell, it will place that sale in the market, and the potential interested parties will make offers.' Spanish lenders Banco Santander SA and CaixaBank are already among the five biggest banks in Portugal. 'It seems to me that it's in the interest of the country that there isn't an excessive dependency, an excessive concentration in our banking sector in the hands of banks from a single country, as is the case of Spain,' the finance minister said. Lone Star owns a 75% stake in Novo Banco, while Portugal holds 25% through entities including the country's Resolution Fund, which is run by the Bank of Portugal. Novo Banco Chief Executive Officer Mark Bourke said in an interview on May 6 that his bank was 'well advanced' in drafting a prospectus for a possible IPO, which it aims to carry out in June at the earliest. Finance Minister Sarmento said in January that Lone Star plans to sell a stake of about 25% to 30% of Novo Banco in an IPO. The minister has also said that the government won't interfere if state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depositos SA decides to assess any possible interest in buying Novo Banco. 'What I have always said is that if Caixa analyzes market conditions, and considers that it can make a proposal for Novo Banco on its own or together with another bank, it will have to present that proposal to the shareholder, and the shareholder will make a pronouncement about a concrete proposal,' Sarmento said on Wednesday night. Caixa Geral de Depositos CEO Paulo Macedo said on Feb. 27 that his bank is analyzing the possible acquisition of Novo Banco. Banco Comercial Portugues SA CEO Miguel Maya has said his bank —Portugal's biggest publicly-traded lender— may analyze transactions when it's asked about Novo Banco, while stating that its plans focus on 'organic growth.' JB Capital said in a research report in March that it estimates Novo Banco could be valued at between €5.5 billion ($6.2 billion) and €7 billion. Novo Banco has about €17 billion in corporate loans, €10 billion in mortgage loans and €2 billion in personal loans, according to a May 6 presentation. It has 1.7 million clients. Banco Espirito Santo, once Portugal's biggest lender by market value, got a roughly €5 billion rescue in 2014 after regulators ordered it to raise more capital following the disclosure of potential losses on loans linked to companies in the family-controlled Espirito Santo Group. The Portuguese central bank moved the lender's deposits and most of its assets to Novo Banco. Lone Star then agreed to inject €1 billion in Novo Banco when it bought its stake in the bank in 2017. More stories like this are available on
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU considers defence fund to ease debt concerns for military gear
By Jan Strupczewski and Karol Badohal BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers started talks on Saturday over a joint defence fund that would buy and own defence equipment and charge members a fee for its use, as a way to spend more on defence without burdening national accounts with more debt. The fund, called the European Defence Mechanism, was proposed by the Bruegel think tank in a paper for the ministerial discussions as a way of addressing concerns about how highly-indebted countries could pay for costly military equipment. It is part of a broader European effort to prepare for a potential attack from Russia as EU governments realise they can no longer fully rely on the United States for their security. "It's a good starting point for discussion," Portuguese Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said. Several other EU countries also expressed initial support, noting that setting up such a fund could be technically relatively simple because it would be based on the model of the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. "We'll still have several issues in terms of the mandate, the finance, the contributions, the leverage in the market. There are several issues on the financing, but also on the military aspect," Sarmento said. The EU is already looking to boost military spending by 800 billion euros ($876 billion) over the next four years by loosening its fiscal rules on defence investment and jointly borrowing for large defence projects against the EU budget. But such options increase national debt - a worry for many high-debt countries - while the Bruegel idea would provide a way to keep some of the defence investment off national books. INTERGOVERNMENTAL FUND OPEN TO NON-EU COUNTRIES The fund would be established under an intergovernmental treaty and have substantial paid-in and callable capital, allowing it to borrow on the market. The EDM could admit members from outside the EU, such as Britain, Ukraine or Norway. Because the fund would own the equipment it buys, the debt incurred to pay for it would stay on the EDM's books, rather than national accounts. The EDM would also promote a single European market for defence equipment to lower costs and pool resources. Defence procurement and production in the 27-nation EU is highly fragmented with at least seven different types of tanks, nine types of self-propelled howitzers and seven types of infantry fighting vehicles, which increases costs, reduces interoperability and hinders economies of scale. "We have to consider the possibility of creating new instruments ... to reinforce the defence capacities of Europe," Sarmento said. The fund could focus on "strategic enablers" - costly military infrastructure and equipment armies need to operate - now often provided by the United States. These include joint command and control systems, satellite-based intelligence and communication, development of expensive new weapon systems such as fifth- or sixth-generation fighter jets, integrated weapon systems needed by multiple countries like strategic air defence, strategic large-scale air transport and maritime logistics, missiles and nuclear deterrence. The Bruegel paper on the EDM said Europe had a chance to reduce its military dependence on the U.S. by 2030 only if it pooled procurement to the greatest extent possible and created a common European defence market including Britain as a major industrial defence player to boost competition. ($1 = 0.9128 euros)
Reuters
12-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU considers defence fund to ease debt concerns for military gear
Summary EU finance ministers discuss European Defence Mechanism proposal EDM aims to reduce national debt impact of military spending Fund could include non-EU members such as UK, Ukraine, Norway BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers started talks on Saturday over a joint defence fund that would buy and own defence equipment and charge members a fee for its use, as a way to spend more on defence without burdening national accounts with more debt. The fund, called the European Defence Mechanism, was proposed by the Bruegel think tank in a paper for the ministerial discussions as a way of addressing concerns about how highly-indebted countries could pay for costly military equipment. It is part of a broader European effort to prepare for a potential attack from Russia as EU governments realise they can no longer fully rely on the United States for their security. "It's a good starting point for discussion," Portuguese Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said. Several other EU countries also expressed initial support, noting that setting up such a fund could be technically relatively simple because it would be based on the model of the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. "We'll still have several issues in terms of the mandate, the finance, the contributions, the leverage in the market. There are several issues on the financing, but also on the military aspect," Sarmento said. The EU is already looking to boost military spending by 800 billion euros ($876 billion) over the next four years by loosening its fiscal rules on defence investment and jointly borrowing for large defence projects against the EU budget. But such options increase national debt - a worry for many high-debt countries - while the Bruegel idea would provide a way to keep some of the defence investment off national books. INTERGOVERNMENTAL FUND OPEN TO NON-EU COUNTRIES The fund would be established under an intergovernmental treaty and have substantial paid-in and callable capital, allowing it to borrow on the market. The EDM could admit members from outside the EU, such as Britain, Ukraine or Norway. Because the fund would own the equipment it buys, the debt incurred to pay for it would stay on the EDM's books, rather than national accounts. The EDM would also promote a single European market for defence equipment to lower costs and pool resources. Defence procurement and production in the 27-nation EU is highly fragmented with at least seven different types of tanks, nine types of self-propelled howitzers and seven types of infantry fighting vehicles, which increases costs, reduces interoperability and hinders economies of scale. "We have to consider the possibility of creating new instruments ... to reinforce the defence capacities of Europe," Sarmento said. The fund could focus on "strategic enablers" - costly military infrastructure and equipment armies need to operate - now often provided by the United States. These include joint command and control systems, satellite-based intelligence and communication, development of expensive new weapon systems such as fifth- or sixth-generation fighter jets, integrated weapon systems needed by multiple countries like strategic air defence, strategic large-scale air transport and maritime logistics, missiles and nuclear deterrence. The Bruegel paper on the EDM said Europe had a chance to reduce its military dependence on the U.S. by 2030 only if it pooled procurement to the greatest extent possible and created a common European defence market including Britain as a major industrial defence player to boost competition. ($1 = 0.9128 euros)
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Bear necessity: A drone can be lifesaver in grizzly country
"If it's black, fight back; if it's brown, lie down; if it's white, well say goodnight." Such is the forlorn advice for any camper or mountaineer unfortunate enough to encounter a bear on the prowl. Unless packing heat, people have little chance of surviving an encounter should one of the giants move in for the kill. The polar bear is the world's biggest land carnivore with some males weighing upwards of 700 kg; lone hunters capable of killing prey more than twice their size such as narwhals and walruses. While omnivorous, North American brown bears can be nearly as large, with paws the size of dinner plates that can down a bull moose with a single well-placed swipe. And though smaller, female bears are arguably more dangerous than males if startled while out and about with their cubs: Think of the wince-inducing scene in "The Revenant" when Leonardo di Caprio's trapper character is mauled by a momma grizzly after chancing upon her little ones in the wilderness. But there could be a life-saving method for campers and hikers that does not involve strapping on a rifle. According to Wesley Sarmento of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, using "a highly maneuverable, buzzing drone" resulted in him "scattering bears with accuracy" when they were found to be getting too close for comfort. Grizzlies are "an imposing predator that can take down prey as large and dangerous as an adult bison," warned Sarmento, who wrote up his findings for the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science. After having limited success using trained dogs, firecrackers and non-lethal rounds, Sarmento found using a drone meant he "could precisely chase bears exactly where I wanted them" without having to get out of his truck. "Even at night, I could find bears from afar with the thermal camera, and then fly in closer to move them away from towns, homes, and livestock," he said.
