Western Europe: Portugal - Competition Heightens - Millennium BCP's Bid For Banco BPI Will Make Competition In The Banking Sector Even More Fierce, Even If It Fails. Peter Wise Reports.(Millennium Banco Comercial Portugues)(Banco BPI)

Banker, The, May, 2006 by Wise, Peter

Byline: Peter WISE

Portuguese banking is about to undergo a seismic shift. The decision by Millennium Banco Comercial Portugues (BCP), the country's largest listed bank, to launch a E4.3bn takeover bid for Banco BPI, the smallest of the top five banks, is already altering the landscape of the sector several months before the final outcome is decided.

"Nothing can go back to where it was before," says Bruno Duarte, a London- based analyst at Fox-Pitt, Kelton. "Whether it succeeds or fails, the bid will have an important impact on a sector where the pressure to reduce costs to enhance revenue growth is already strong. Competition, which has been fierce, will become even more aggressive."

The highly competitive climate of Portuguese banking was...

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