Bank of Portugal appoints new chairman for Novo Banco

The Bank of Portugal has appointed a new board of directors for recently-created bank Novo Banco, with Eduardo Stock da Cunha as chairman, the Portuguese central bank said Monday.
Eduardo Stock da Cunha will replace Vitor Bento who was appointed in August as chairman of Novo Banco created following a 3.9-billion-euro state-backed bailout of troubled private bank Banco Espirito Santo (BES).
"The Resolution Fund and the Banco of Portugal have invited Eduardo Stock da Cunha to take over the chairmanship of the Board of Directors of Novo Banco," the central bank said in a statement, adding that "Eduardo Stock da Cunha has long and successful experience in the financial sector, at both the national and financial level."
Local media reports emerging over the weekend indicated that the governor of the Bank of Portugal was seeking to replace Bento and his team due to differences of opinion about the future of the bank.
Stock da Cunha will take a leave of absence from his role as a director of Britain's Lloyds Banking Group in order to take up his post at Novo Banco. His previous experience includes 20 years as a board member of Grupo Santander Totta and later at Sovereign Bank/Santander in the United States.
The new board of directors of Novo Banco will also include Jorge Freire Cardoso as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Vitor Fernandes and Jose Joa Guilherme, the statement said.
The team is expected to take office in the next few days.