What factors influenced BPI to sell its strategic and profitable stake in BFA and exit the Angolan market?

Banco BPI faced pressure and advice to exit Angola due to supervisory rules and limits on large risk exposures imposed by the European Central Bank (ECB).

The European regulator's requirement, which began taking shape in 2014, was based on the following key factors:

Lack of supervisory equivalence: The ECB determined that banking supervision rules in Angola were not equivalent to those of the European Union. Consequently, assets and funds invested in Angolan sovereign debt or local banks (such as BFA) were assigned a much higher risk weighting.

Concentration risk (Large Exposures): BPI held a significant stake in Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA), creating a disproportionate weight on the Portuguese bank's balance sheet. Under the new European rules, this heavy exposure to a market deemed high-risk exceeded the regulatory limits set by the ECB to ensure the stability of the European financial system.

Change in shareholder control: With the acquisition of BPI by the Spanish group CaixaBank, the urgency to strictly comply with the ratios required by Frankfurt increased significantly, accelerating the plan to reduce its presence in the Angolan market.

After more than a decade of pressure and phased reductions of its stake in BFA, BPI reached an agreement in September 2026 to sell its remaining 33.35% stake to Grupo Carrinho, thereby concluding its exit from Angola.

Banco BPI’s exit from Angola spanned several years and was structured through successive capital reductions, culminating recently in a final multi-million-euro sale.

The transaction history and the way the Portuguese bank's balance sheet absorbed the financial impacts are detailed below.

📌 History of the Share Sale Process Over the Years

BPI’s original investment in Angola dates back to the 1990s through Banco Fomento Exterior. The strategic reduction of its presence took place in three key stages:

2008 – Initial Sale to Unitel: At a time when the Angolan market was expanding rapidly, BPI sold 49.9% of BFA’s share capital to the Angolan operator Unitel for approximately €366 million, retaining majority control with 50.1%.

2017 – Loss of Operational Control: Under direct pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB) due to regulatory risk concerns, BPI reduced its position by selling an additional 2% of BFA shares to Unitel for €28 million. With this move, BPI ceased to hold majority control (dropping to 48.1%), and Unitel took command of the Angolan bank.

2025 – BFA Stock Market Listing (IPO): As part of the capital dispersion strategy driven by the Angolan government, BPI took advantage of the stock market listing to sell 14.75% of the bank, generating proceeds of €103 million. Its residual stake stood at 33.35%.

2026 – Total Divestment: In September 2026, BPI definitively concluded its cycle in Angola by selling the remaining 33.35% stake to Grupo Carrinho (through the holding company Congolian Financial).

🔎 Who is Grupo Carrinho, and what is its role in the Angolan banking sector?

Grupo Carrinho is Angola’s largest agri-food and agro-industrial conglomerate. Headquartered in Benguela and led by Nelson Carrinho, the group has aggressively expanded its business model in recent years, transitioning from food supply chain management to the financial sector.

With the recent acquisition of the 33.35% stake in BFA previously held by BPI, the Carrinho Group positions itself as the largest private banking conglomerate with purely Angolan capital. Its financial ecosystem currently includes:

Banco de Comércio e Indústria (BCI): Acquired from the Angolan state in 2021 under the privatization program (PROPRIV). The group holds approximately 74% of the capital.

Banco Keve: A financial institution in which the group has also secured a significant equity stake.

Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA): By purchasing the final tranche from BPI through the holding company Congolian Financial, the group has become the second-largest shareholder of the country's most profitable bank, trailing only Unitel.