Banif Portugal is to be included in the PSI-20, the benchmark index of the Portuguese stock exchange, as from March 21.

The bank said this entry has been expected by the market for some weeks.

The Portugal PSI-20 Index is a capitalisation weighted index of the top 20 stocks listed on the Lisbon Stock Exchange.

The announcement was made in the annual review of the PSI-20, published on February 21, the first review since the intro-duction of the new rules established in 2010. This confirmed the new inclusion of Banif Bank as well as the resultant increase in the representativeness of the financial sector, as exhibited in the index.

'We are very pleased that Banif shall be entering the PSI-20,' said Joaquim Marques dos Santos, president of Banif when addressing the media to announce this important milestone.

Dr Marques dos Santos highlighted the key positive effects that the inclusion in the benchmark index will provide.

Being part of the PSI-20 Index gives more visibility to the bank, which implies that Banif will be more avidly followed by international investors who will be looking at the Bank as an alternative investment opportunity.