Banco Comercial Português, one of the banks worst hit by the current crisis, fell sharply during this Wednesday’s session in a bout of investor panic as several analysts warned the bank might not be able to repay state capital injection within five years, as agreed under the recapitalisation programme.

The bank was in free fall on Wednesday morning, losing almost 18% but it managed to alleviate losses during the session and settled at 8% by closing time.

Investors fled from the stock after analysts suggested the state might continue to have a say in the bank beyond the five-year period agreed for the total repayment of the loan.

BCP is one of the banks asking the Portuguese state for recapitalisation funds to ensure it abides by the 9% core tier 1 solvency ration by the end of June, as required by the European Banking Authority (EBA).

with Lusa News