The chairman of the Board of Directors for the four SGM, Joaquim Pinheiro, stated in a press release that this concludes “a decisive step towards strengthening the solidity, increased efficiency, and coherence of the public guarantees system in Portugal.”
The merger process, initiated in November 2023 by the Portuguese Development Bank (BPF), the main shareholder of the four SGMs, will result in the incorporation of Lisgarante, Garval, and Agrogarante into Norgarante. This entity will assume the legal continuity of the National Mutual Guarantee System (SNGM).
The merger dossier, submitted to the Bank of Portugal, is currently under review by the competent supervisory and regulatory authorities, a necessary condition for the formal completion of the process. It is anticipated to be finalized “in the coming months.”
The aim of consolidating into a single public guarantees operator is to ensure a “more coordinated and robust” operation of the national mutual guarantee system, “increasing economies of scale and synergies and promoting greater uniformity of procedures and resource optimization.”
Joaquim Pinheiro emphasized that the objective is to enhance the “capacity to respond to the financing challenges of the Portuguese economy, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.”
José Furtado, the CEO of the four SGMs undergoing the merger, described it as a “structural reform” aimed at shaping a new phase in the life of the SNGM, “simpler in operational architecture, yet equally demanding in terms of technical rigor and monitoring of guaranteed operations.”
“The merger of the SGMs represents a decisive step in the institutional consolidation of the SNGM, with expected positive impacts on administrative simplification, strengthening territorial proximity, consistency of analysis criteria, and improving relations with financial and business partners,” the press release stated.
The resulting entity from the merger will “maintain its focus on proximity to the business fabric, speed in granting guarantees, and reinforcing complementarity with European financial instruments, consolidating its position as a fundamental mechanism for leveraging access to financing by SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises].”
In the first half of this year, the volume of guarantees issued by the SNGM increased by more than 60% year-on-year, “reflecting the mobilization of various lines considered strategic for financing the real economy,” such as BPF InvestEU, BPF Invest Export, and, in the coming days, the Fomento PT2030 – Guarantees line.
“This performance largely reflects the capacity of mutual guarantees to adapt to the strategic objectives set by the BPF, reinforcing its role as a pillar of public policy support for investment, innovation, and the competitive transition of Portuguese companies,” the statement read.
