The now-resigned president of Alboa declared, after “eight years,” that believing in promises that became “empty promises” led to “complete exhaustion and disillusionment.”
“If anyone believed in the promises of finding a solution for the victims, it was me, and nothing happened,” he lamented.
Pointing a finger at the previous government, led by António Costa, Jacinto Silva stated, “obviously, the last step was to create a commission, a working group, and in Portugal, when working groups are created, it is to not solve anything.”
“And once again, it has been confirmed,” he criticized. “They didn’t even finish the work, nor did they pass it on to the new government,” he noted, indicating that from the administration led by Luís Montenegro, “a solution is not foreseen either.”
According to Jacinto Silva, new elections will now take place, assuring that there are “certainly, among the many affected individuals,” competent people who will continue “all the work that has been developed until now.”
He also guaranteed that the outgoing board will continue “to support those who come next as needed.”
In the final months of 2022, the Ministry of Finance initiated meetings of a working group to find a solution to compensate the non-qualified investors of Banif, the overseas branches of Banco Espírito Santo (BES), and Banco Privée for the losses suffered in the collapse of these banks.
For years, these victims have been receiving political promises of seeing their issues mitigated, but the process has dragged on.
BES ceased operations in August 2014 and Banif at the end of 2015, leaving thousands of clients who invested in financial securities affected.
In December 2019, an expert commission appointed by the Bar Association concluded that evidence of illicit practices was found in the sale of financial products at Banif and validated 2,330 claims from victims, with the investments involved amounting to 230 million euros.
According to Alboa, the average ‘Banif victim’ is 61 years old, possesses low educational attainment (39% have less than a 4th-grade basic education), and is from the Azores or Madeira. The average application is 73,500 euros, and Banif subordinated obligations are the most common financial product.
