João Relvas / LUSA
Álvaro Santos Pereira and Mário Centeno
Santos Pereira claims that Centeno’s departure agreement will save money for the institution because the former governor will not remain as a consultant until he is 70 years old.
The governor of Banco de Portugal guarantees that Mário Centeno’s controversial exit agreement represents significant savings for the institution, estimated at around 2.2 million euros.
According to Álvaro Santos Pereira, this value corresponds to the charges that the bank would have to bear if Centeno remained as a consultant until he was 70 years old, including salaries, Social Security contributions and benefits. “We are talking about very large costs”, stated Santos Pereira, classifying the negotiation as a true “public service”.
The former central bank governor negotiated a early retirement of around 10 thousand euros gross per monthin an agreement whose calculation formula was not disclosed. Even so, it is known that the pension is higher than that which would result from normal age and contributory career rules. To compensate for this difference, Banco de Portugal will have to transfer additional resources to the pension fund, ensuring the balance of the system.
Despite this, Santos Pereira insists that the agreement is financially advantageous, although it assumes that Centeno would remain at the institution for another 11 years, says .
Centeno’s departure reignited the debate about the pension regime at the central bank, considered “generous” by the governor himself. This model applies to workers hired before 2009 and allows early retirement through negotiation between the institution and employees. Even so, the person responsible guaranteed that the pension fund is fully capitalized, without recourse to taxpayers’ money.
At the same time, Banco de Portugal intends to reduce costs associated with acting as an administration consultant. According to Santos Pereira, these charges currently amount to around 1.8 million euros annuallyplus installation expenses. The goal is to phase out these positions or ensure that consultants perform roles that justify the salaries.
Currently, five consultants remain at the institution, including former directors and technical managers. The governor admits negotiating exits similar to Centeno’s, if there is a lack of suitable functions.
The controversy surrounding this agreement has already reached Parliament, where Santos Pereira will be called to provide clarification. Deputies also want to hear from pension fund employees and analyze documents that supported the decision.
