ABANCA launched in Portugal ABANCA MAR, a specialized segment aimed at companies and sole proprietors who are part of the Blue Economy. The new offering stands out in the market for its specialization and knowledge of this ecosystem, combining financial solutions tailored to the different activities with a model of close follow-up with the sector’s companies, the banking institution explains in a press release.
According to the same source, with more than ten years of experience in Spain, ABANCA MAR now arrives in Portugal with the objective of placing at the service of Portuguese companies the knowledge accumulated by the ABANCA Group in a sector of particular relevance on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal’s maritime dimension, with about 2,500 kilometers of coastline and an Exclusive Economic Zone of approximately 1.7 million square kilometers, reinforces the strategic importance of this ecosystem for the national economy.
The new specialized offering covers the entire value chain of the Blue Economy. In addition to traditional activities such as fishing, aquaculture, processing and marketing of fish, it includes shipbuilding and the naval auxiliary industry, ports, logistics and maritime transport, coastal and maritime tourism, as well as emerging areas such as offshore energy production and marine biotechnology.
“At ABANCA MAR we want companies to find managers who truly understand their business and their needs, who speak the same language. Specialization allows us to know the terrain, anticipate needs and search, together with each client, for the solutions most appropriate to the reality of their activity,” says Francisco Pereira, Director of ABANCA AGRO and MAR.
More than a suite of financial products, ABANCA MAR differentiates itself by sector specialization and by knowledge of its activities, business cycles, and specific financing needs. The specialized team works in coordination with the bank’s commercial network, supporting managers in identifying opportunities and client needs, in preparing proposals and, whenever necessary, in accompanying meetings with the companies. The team can also prepare commercial opinions on credit proposals, supporting the decision-making process.
ABANCA MAR provides cross-cutting financial solutions to business activity, complemented by responses tailored to the specifics of this ecosystem, such as medium- and long-term financing secured by vessel mortgages or short-term financing to anticipate public support.
Needs vary significantly along the value chain. “A shipowner, for example, may need financing for the acquisition or modernization of the fleet and, at the same time, short-term solutions to respond to the seasonality of activity. Conversely, a fish processing company may have industrial investment needs and specific peaks in working capital related to the acquisition of raw materials. The aim of specialization is precisely to identify these particularities and tailor financial solutions to the cycle of each activity,” explains Sara Monteiro, coordinator of ABANCA MAR.
The implementation of ABANCA MAR in Portugal directly benefits from the experience developed by the Group in Spain over more than a decade. The relationship between Portuguese and Spanish sector companies extends to areas such as shipbuilding and naval repair and the marketing of fish, allowing the bank to develop an Iberian approach and to leverage the knowledge accumulated in the two markets.
The launch also comes at a time of transformation for the Blue Economy. The expansion of aquaculture, the development of offshore renewable energies, the decarbonization of ports and maritime transport and the growth of biotechnology are creating new investment opportunities and, consequently, new financing needs.
European funds also constitute an opportunity, notably for projects of infrastructure modernization, energy and digital transition and sustainable fishing. In this context, bank financing can complement public support, either by financing components of investments not co-funded, or advancing funds during the period between the realization of the investment and the receipt of the subsidies.
The Blue Economy has been identified by ABANCA as a priority business segment in Portugal, with ABANCA MAR expected to be one of the levers of the bank’s sustained growth project in the country, benefiting from the experience and the model already developed by the Group in Spain. The companies interested can contact their branch or ABANCA’s Business Center. 3
