At the “Grande Encontro Banca do Futuro” conference held today in Lisbon, BPI, Millennium BCP, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, and Santander executives addressed whether the former Governor of the Banco de Portugal could be a viable candidate and if Luís Montenegro’s executive should support him.
BPI’s CEO, João Pedro Oliveira e Costa, emphasized the “importance” of having “a Portuguese person in any prominent position in Europe” and asserted that the Government “should always support any Portuguese person in an important position in Europe.”
“We need more people in key positions, in decision-making places, to gain influence,” he stated.
Millennium BCP’s CEO, Miguel Maya, while disagreeing that merely having a Portuguese name is a sufficient condition, considers the candidacy of the former Finance Minister a promising choice for the ECB.
He contends that “good people [first and foremost], good Portuguese people second,” are essential to serving the European project effectively. If a candidate is equally competent as someone from another nationality, then he “much prefers the Portuguese.”
Speaking of Centeno, the BCP CEO remarked that “he is a good name” for the position.
Francisco Cary, vice president of Caixa Geral de Depósitos’ Executive Committee, also supports Centeno as a strong candidate.
“I believe Dr. Mário Centeno has the credentials, the experience, and the ability,” he said, noting his unfamiliarity with the other candidates and agreeing with the “balanced view” that the key is being a good candidate, and “not necessarily being promoted just because he is Portuguese.”
“Having people with a deeper understanding of the Portuguese context in key decision-making centers in Europe will likely help address some of Portugal’s and Portuguese institutions’ specific challenges at certain times,” he stated.
Santander’s CEO, Pedro Castro e Almeida, also believes it “makes perfect sense” for Portugal to pursue this position.
“I assume that anyone running [as a Portuguese] for any position has the capacity to fulfill that role,” he asserted, emphasizing that “there are no half measures” and that the Government’s agenda to promote the presence of Portuguese individuals in European positions “makes perfect sense.”
Mário Centeno served as the governor of the Portuguese central bank from July 2020 to October 2025, after being the Finance Minister in António Costa’s Governments between November 2015 and June 2020.
During his tenure, he chaired the Eurogroup from 2018 to 2020 and also presided over the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank from 2017 to 2018.
