The Recapitalization and Restructuring Plan requires a capital increase from shareholders, as well as the closure of unprofitable branches, a 30% reduction in staff, the sale of real estate assets, and strengthened efforts to recover non-performing loans. Banco Sol has already begun implementing the 2025–2027 Recapitalization and Restructuring Plan (PRR), which has led to the closure of 39 branches across 10 provinces. Although the PRR is not public, the bank has confirmed that it will cut up to 30% of its workforce.
According to the bank’s financial statements, Banco Sol had 1,701 employees by the end of the 2024 fiscal year. This means that up to 510 workers may be laid off by the conclusion of the PRR in 2027, according to calculations by Expansão.
There are currently no publicly available figures on the number of branches, as the bank has not yet released its 2024 management report, where such data is typically disclosed. In its 2023 annual report, the bank reported having 157 branches across 18 provinces.
Expansão reached out to Banco Sol for information regarding the number of employees to be laid off due to the closure of the 39 branches, as well as for updated figures on the number of branches, but received no response by the time of publication.
In a recent statement, the bank noted that it sought to carry out the layoff process with a high degree of respect, transparency, and social responsibility, in line with the plan’s requirements. “Our bank is going through a challenging and decisive time, which calls for courage, maturity, and a strong sense of responsibility from all of us,” the statement reads.
However, Expansão has learned that the dismissed employees are scheduled to meet with the National Union of Bank Employees of Angola (SNEBA) next week to assess the bank’s severance proposal.
The reality is that for many years, the bank held a loan portfolio with high exposure to non-performing loans, which led the National Bank of Angola (BNA) to conduct an on-site inspection in 2020. Allegations of breach of trust and conflicts of interest in loan approvals were among the suspicions directed at the former management, leaving financial “gaps” that now require a deep clean-up of the bank’s balance sheet.
As such, the bank, now led by CEO Osvaldo Macaia (in office since 2024), must drastically reduce operating costs and make its operations as efficient as possible. To illustrate the scale of the challenge, Deloitte reported that in 2024 Banco Sol had a cost-to-income ratio (Operating Costs / Banking Product) of 103%, meaning the bank spent more than it earned.
In fact, the CEO himself stated in a March interview with Expansão that the bank’s productivity per employee (employee per banking product) is among the least efficient in the market. “If we compare employees per branch and their ability to attract deposits, we are also among the least efficient,” he said.
Shareholders to Increase Capital
Among the new measures in the PRR is a capital increase by the shareholders, which is essential to strengthen the bank’s financial structure and ensure compliance with BNA’s prudential ratios—particularly the own funds ratio. The ongoing process includes the closure of unprofitable branches, the sale of non-essential real estate assets, the reinforcement of non-performing loan recovery, and efforts to attract new deposits.
Source: Expansão
