Hong Kong´s Bison Bank  is open to new “strategic partners” in its investment bank in Portugal, where it has already invested EUR 5.7 million euros of a EUR 19 million capital increase mandated by the central bank.

The capital increase mandated by the Bank of Portugal is to be completed by the end of the year, while the shareholder also considers new partnerships, an official source from the bank told ECO news site in Portugal.

“Bison group is open to receiving credible investor(s) as a strategic partner(s) in the bank’s shareholder structure so that more strategic resources are available to accelerate the bank’s growth”, the bank said.

When it bought the former Banif investment bank, Bison pledged to the Bank of Portugal to inject EUR 60 million into the Portuguese unit by the end of 2019, but only EUR 41 million were placed through a capital increase in July 2018, in the acquisition operation.

The Bank of Portugal later sent a letter to the bank imposing the end of June as a deadline for the capital increase and, in the end of September, Bison Bank registered the capital increase of EUR 19 million, to EUR 198 million.

“Considering the full commitment to the capital increase, the prudential ratios as well as the capital requirement for the bank’s development, the shareholder has decided to increase the capital by 19 million euros, of which 5.7 million euros are already completed and the remaining 13.3 million euros will be provided by the end of December 2020”, Bison Bank told ECO.

Bison Bank closed the first half of the year with losses of around EUR 3.6 million.