The Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) announced on its portal that it decided on December 10 to “adopt a decision of non-opposition to the concentration operation”.
In the same note, the AdC highlighted that this operation “is not likely to create significant impediments to effective competition in the national market or a substantial part of it”.
The notification of the business concentration operation was received by the AdC on September 30, 2025, taking effect from November 5, 2025.
With this operation, Novo Banco gains exclusive control over Unibanco’s consumer credit business unit, including its activities, assets, and liabilities, currently owned and operated by Unicre.
The two entities had already announced on July 31 an agreement for the acquisition of Unicre’s consumer credit business.
Unicre is a financial credit institution involved in consumer credit grants, issuance and management of credit cards, insurance mediation in financial products, and the ‘acquiring’ business, which owns and operates the Unibanco business unit.
Unibanco offers financial products and services, specifically consumer credit and credit cards, to individual and business clients in Portugal.
In November, three banking sector unions affiliated with the UGT warned that only 50% of the approximately 100 workers affected by this operation will transition to Novo Banco.
Among the remaining half, “most will have early retirement proposals and some will be offered mutual agreement severances,” according to a statement signed by the Finance Sector Workers’ Union, the National Banking, Insurance and Technology Workers Union (SBC), and the Financial Sector Workers Union of Portugal (SBN).
