Banco Nacional Ultramarino (Macau) contributed 50.8 million euros to the consolidated net profit of 508.4 million euros of Portuguese state group Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) in the first nine months of the year, the group said.

The report on consolidated activity as at 30 September 2019 also said that as regards international activity, BCI Mozambique with 28.4 million euros and the French branch with 15.9 million euros came after BNU (Macau).

Overall, the contribution from the international business area to the consolidated net income for the first nine months of 2019 was 132.5 million euros, an increase of 7.8% over the same period of 2018.

Following the implementation of the Strategic Plan, CGD’s branches in London, Cayman, Macau Offshore, Zhuhai and New York have been closed, the document noted.

At the beginning of 2019 the sale process of Banco Comercial do Atlântico (Cabo Verde) and the closure of the Luxembourg branch began, which is expected to be concluded by the end of this year, and the sale process of BCG Brasil was further along.

On 9 September 2019, the European Central Bank declared its non-opposition to the sale to ABANCA Corporación Bancaria of the shares representing 99.79% of Banco Caixa Geral’s capital stock, followed by the final official sale on 14 October, 2019.

As of 9 October, 2019, the South African authorities approved the sale to Capitec Bank Limited of shares representing 100% of the capital stock of Mercantile Bank Holdings Limited (Mercantile), completed on 7 November 2019.

These operations aim to streamline the CGD Group’s international structure, releasing capital and reducing its risk profile, the report said. (Macauhub)