BCP sees no risk to Fortis insurance JV - report
LISBON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Portugal's largest listed bank, Millennium bcp (BCP.LS), sees no risk to its insurance joint venture with troubled financial group Fortis and says there are many parties interested in replacing Fortis if need be.
Diario Economico business daily on Monday quoted Nelson Machado, who is in charge of the insurance business at Millennium bcp, as saying Millenniumbcp Fortis had a solvency ratio of 170 percent.
Machado said he believed the Belgian-Dutch Fortis (FOR.BR), which has a 51 percent stake in the Millenniumbcp Fortis company, would come up with a plan to overcome its crisis, but saw no troubles ahead for the insurer regardless.
"Even if the worst happens, the companies will not be affected at all," Machado told Diario Economico. "We have the best rating in Portugal (for solvency) and a portfolio mainly applied in public debt," he said.
Millenniumbcp Fortis is a holding company that controls insurer Ocidental, health insurance company Medis and pension fund Pensoes Gere.
"There are important companies interested (in Fortis' stake), some of them we wouldn't mind having as partners," he added. A Millennium bcp spokesman confirmed the comments.
The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments agreed late on Sunday to inject 11.2 billion euros ($16.4 billion) into the cross-border banking and insurance company, which will sell the parts of Dutch bank ABN AMRO that it bought last year.
Fortis said on Monday nothing changes for now in terms of its insurance operations. (Reporting by Andrei Khalipl Editing by David Cowell)
