Banco de Portugal Ethics Committee responsible for evaluating the invitation to Centeno

The Ethics Committee of Banco de Portugal is responsible for assessing the possible conflict of interest of the governing institution caused by the proposal of Prime Minister Mario Centeno to replace him in this position, in accordance with the rules of the supervisory authority.

The Eco newspaper reported this Saturday that the Ethics Committee of the Bank of Portugal (BdP) is expected to meet on Monday to assess a possible conflict of interest or possible incompatibility after Prime Minister António Costa announced that he had appointed the President of the Republic in the name of the Governor Mario Centeno, former finance minister, to replace him as leader of the PS government, avoiding early elections.

When asked by Lusa about the schedule of the meeting, an official source in the BJP said that “the ethics committee must comment on this matter.”

According to the banking supervisory rules of conduct, the Ethics Committee is responsible for “promoting the development, application, compliance and updating of the Bank’s code of conduct applicable to members of the Board of Directors.”

The responsibilities include “issuing, on its own initiative and after hearing from interested parties, an opinion on the conformity of certain conduct of members of the Board of Directors with the provisions of the code of conduct applicable to them,” and requesting the recipients of the opinion to provide information about the observed behavior.

The Ethics Committee meets once a quarter and extraordinary at the initiative of any of its members, as well as at the request of the Board of Directors or the Audit Commission.

The regulations stipulate that the Ethics Committee consists of the president and two members appointed by the Board of Directors on the proposal of the president and the president of the Audit Commission from among persons not bound by contractual relations with the bank and having recognized merit and independence.

The extraordinary meeting of the Ethics Committee took place after political parties criticized the invitation of Mario Centeno, who has not yet commented on the matter.

“This is just another demonstration, but much more serious, of the lack of independence that the governor of the Bank of Portugal has,” accused PSD parliamentary leader Joaquim Miranda Sarmento on Friday, speaking to reporters in parliament, demanding Mário Centeno say whether he gave his consent to the Prime Minister offering his name to the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The leader of the IL parliament, Rodrigo Saraiva, also criticized the solution proposed by António Costa to the head of state, believing that the political future of Portugal cannot be determined by a “secretariat decision”.

In the same spirit, PAN MP Inés Souza Real criticized the nomination of Mario Centeno, stressing that the party has always been against the so-called “revolving door”.

For his part, President Chegi accused the governor of lacking independence in running the institution.

As for the PS, parliamentary leader Eurico Brillante Dias said that “any responsible Portuguese” should take up the challenge and help the country.

“If Mario Centeno were asked to lead the government, I expect that he would responsibly agree. To say that, given the circumstances in which the country finds itself, he would not agree to what is a work for the benefit of all, does not seem responsible to me.” , counts.

Portugal will hold early legislative elections on March 10, 2024, scheduled by the President of the Republic, following the resignation of the Prime Minister on Tuesday.