Caixabank is not keen to keep stake in Angola's BFA, CEO says

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Caixabank is not interested in maintaining its large indirect stake in Angolan lender BFA and would inform local authorities ahead of any divestment decision, the chief executive of the Spanish lender said on Friday.

Caixabank holds, via its Portuguese unit Banco BPI, an indirect stake of 48.1 in BFA. BPI has been trying, without success, to sell its stake in BFA since 2017 following ECB's recommendation to reduce its risky exposure to Angola.

Angola's state-owned mobile telecoms giant Unitel holds the remaining 51.9% of BFA.

"From a strategic point of view we have no interest in keeping a stake like the one we have now in Angola," CEO Gonzalo Gortazar said. "Whatever we do at any time will be with the knowledge of and agreed with the (Angolan) state."

In 2023, BPI suspended the sale of its stake in BFA due to the strong devaluation of the kwanza against the dollar, Portuguese newspaper Negocios reported in July.

Gortazar acknowledged that the currency instability was a factor to exit the country, but "it is not the only factor", he said, without elaborating further.

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Andrei Khalip)