The granting of credit in Portugal is having “a little softening” but continues to grow at a positive ratesays Francisco Barbeira, BPI administrator who presented to journalists, this Thursday, the new commercial space “all in one” which reuses the old Monumental shopping center, in the Saldanha neighborhood of Lisbon. The administrator says that it is noticeable, above all, that “decision cycles are slowerbut “the numbers show that credit continues to grow.”
Francisco Barbeira presented the 2,300 square meter commercial space that will open its doors next Monday. There are two floors open to customers: everyone, companies, individuals, private and retail – and, on the upper floors of the building, there are central services that now work alongside the other BPI building in Lisbon (which is a stone’s throw away, on Rua Casal Ribeiro). The bank’s services in Lisbon, which were previously spread over six offices, are now concentrated in these two buildings.
The administrator refuses to talk about “concentration”, but this new building will replace six branches that existed in the immediate vicinity – the approximately 15,000 customers of these branches have already been informed of the change. Not counting the robot that welcomes visitors at the entrance, around 100 employees will work there, most of whom will be in customer service (in different types of products and services, from simply opening an account to financing the purchase of a car, for example). one like Tesla who is parked in the center of the space).
The space will have longer hours than a conventional counter, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The name is BPI All in One Lisboa, which supposes that there will be others? Francisco Barbeira tells the Observer that the possibility of creating a similar center in Porto (the city where the bank’s headquarters are located) is being studied but “the decision has not yet been made.”
“It is a space that is obviously aimed at all BPI clients, but we want it to be open to the entire community”, says the administrator, noting that on the -1 floor there is a place called “Ágora”, a room with 360º projection of images that can function as a space for cultural presentations, initiatives on current affairs and other types of events open to all.
BPI does not disclose how much it invested in the creation of this space, whose lease to the owner Merlin Properties was agreed in September 2020.
Source: Observadora
