After nearly 40 years, Vitor Melicias will not join any leadership position at the Associação Mutualista Montepio Geral (AMMG), which will be voted on on December 17. He joined Mutualista in 1983, stabilizing after the institution was on the cusp of a post-revolutionary wave of bank nationalization and remains in office to this day. But for the first time neither the management nor the supervisory board were included in the lists – names already assessed by the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Pensions Funds (ASF).
“I can’t stay in Montepio forever. The fact that I did not progress simply represented the desire to have a renewal and the spirit of the enterprise. I can’t stay in office forever. Does not make sense. Not applying is a positive act of cooperation with the Foundation, support for renewal, and eternal life for the Foundation,” he told Nascer do SOL.
The Franciscan priest also remembers that he was one of the main motives for limiting the duration of the position, and in regards to the wages he still receives, he says that he is only paid through attendance vouchers – a few hundred euros – since other jobs he is currently doing Mutualista and is not being paid. “I haven’t received any wages from Montepio for 18 years. I have a pension and everything I get goes to the Franciscans.”
In an interview with i, he had already mentioned that he took three types of pensions: one from Social Security, one from Montepio – which he deducted as a member – and one called the statutory Montepio pension, which is for those who have been there for more than five years. Doing excercise. “Everything together should give, up to a maximum, 3900, 4000 euros. From this account, automatically, and without going through my hand, 3000 euros goes to the monks. 900 remains to run my life, to help the poor ”, he told me.
A guarantee is again granted to Shorouk by noting that the Franciscans live “as simply as possible, without luxuries”.
However, Melesias does not rule out the possibility of submitting his name to the General Assembly or the Chamber of Deputies. There is still no list of these positions. If they convince me that I should go because that would be favorable, I may not be able to say no.” He leaves a guarantee: “I really want not to go, but my sense of solidarity with the establishment can compel me to do so.”
And while he’s not on any of the lists, he knows his name gives credibility. He says his absence does not mean that he does not continue to support the project. “We need peace of mind. It is a 200-year-old institution that has grown, strong, and organized, with 600 and a thousand of those.” But he admits that in recent years, especially with the pandemic, numbers have been volatile. “Some enter, others leave. Not to be underestimated and nothing to worry about.”
countdown
Besides Virgílio Lima – who offers the continuity list and has names like Idália Serrão, João Carvalho das Neves, Rui Heitor, Fernando Amaro, Alípio Dia and Luís Patrão – there are three other competing lists.
One of them is the so-called “staff list”, led by Pedro Alves, who took up the nomination after Joao Vicente Ribeiro asked to leave “for personal reasons” – composed by Maria Eduarda Osorio, Nuno Parames and Pedro Libano Monteiro.
Eugenio Rosa, along with Ana Drago, Antonio Couto Lopez, Catarina Homem, Luis Costa and Thiago Motta Saraiva, are vying for the leadership of Mutualista, while the other slate, supported by Ribeiro Mendes – who ran in the last election against Tomas Correia – has Pedro Corte Real ( Chairman), Miguel Coelho, Mario Valadas, Nazari Ribeiro, Nuno Rolo, Marcelo Gama and Ana Nogueira.
Nascer do SOL knows that, using Tomás Correia’s pre-election practices, Virgílio Lima has been traveling across the country from end to end, visiting Banco Montepio branches. This “magic” operation began in July and only took a break during August. Recently, branches have been visited in Braga, Porto and Aveiro. Our newspaper found that these visits were made under the pretext that he is the president of Associação Mutualista and that his goal is to survey the workers to see how the relationship with clients and partners is going.
Despite this round, the Executive Committee issued a note to workers on the risks of conflict of interest arising from the elections: “The electoral process of the union bodies of the Montepio Geral Associação Mutualista is very close, an important event in the life of that institution. Caixa Económica Montepio Geral (“Banco Montepio” maintains ) maintains a position of absolute neutrality and independence with regard to this process, out of its conviction that this is the best way to contribute to the defense of the interests of MGAM and its members,” says the document.
It reminds workers of the rules: “They shall refrain, in the exercise of their professional activity, from taking positions on any nominations that are subject to scrutiny, regardless of the means used in contacting MGAM clients and partners; No campaign initiatives may be carried out within the scope of the MGAM electoral process at Banco Montepio headquarters; They must immediately inform the Board of Directors when they are part of the nomination list; Any public interventions or communications regarding the electoral process, permitted under the applicable legal framework, may only be made in a personal capacity, which must be duly noted, and may not represent or obligate Banco Montepio”, adding that “a breach of the above obligations may constitute A disciplinary offense and therefore the following behaviors are prohibited: use of Banco Montepio facilities and facilities, i.e. e-mail, telephone, Internet access and similar technologies to exchange or post messages in support of a candidate or list; Use the means made available by Banco Montepio to exercise its functions, attend campaign proceedings, collect votes or promote a list or candidate (eg: vehicles and mobile phones)”.
The Executive Committee of Banco Montepio has also started a program of decentralizing its meetings, starting with Guimarães, where it visited last Wednesday. It should be noted that the current management of Banco Montepio expires on December 31, which means that the selection of the bank’s new management team will be one of the first tasks of the new management of Associação Mutualista.
2020 approved accounts
Also on Thursday, the consolidated financial results of the Montepio Geral Group for 2020 were approved by 97.28% of the vote during the Ordinary General Assembly meeting. “In a year marked by the strong negative impact of the pandemic on the entire national, European and global financial sector, the Montepio Group financial district was no exception, recording a series of extraordinary events that punished the operational results of Banco Montepio Geral (- 86 million). Without this, he revealed in a statement. The absolute exceptional reality, the consolidated accounts will be positive 65 million.”
According to Virgilio Lima, the accounts were approved “after colleagues were fully informed of the very positive performance already recorded in 2021, with the growth of the number of partners, financial margin, results and efficiency indicators,” adding that “the non-financial area group is experiencing a positive and upward cycle.” And the financial sphere guarantees performance that confirms a clear recovery.” And he left a guarantee: “No one is proud of negative results, but the recovery path that the Montepio Group is already taking on this date and the performance of all our employees in 2020 and 2021, in the framework of the restructuring, fills us with pride. The level of the group, in terms of simplifying the number of special-purpose vehicles, adjusting the number of branches and work teams, always on a voluntary basis. For all this we face the present and the future with determination, calm and confidence.
Numbers do not convince conflicting lists. The group of executives says that the calculations “reveal the inability to value the enterprise”, arguing that “it is possible to reverse the ongoing devaluation of assets.” The list headed by Eugenio Rosa also criticized the losses, arguing that it is time to try to implement the good accounts and good practices that the members deserve and have been waiting for so long.
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