The new board of directors of Cape Verdean bank Banco Comercial do Atlântico, owned by Portugal’s Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), is considering the possibility of a capital increase this year, the bank’s new chairman said Friday in Praia.

The possibility was mentioned by Joaquim de Sousa during the presentation of the new board of BCA, a bank that has the biggest share of the Cape Verdean market, without giving any figures.

The bank’s previous capital call took place in March, 2009 and the then chairman, João Real Pereira, said it was a “success” with demand outstripping supply more than two-fold, as 324,765 shares were made available, with a nominal value of 1,000 Cape Verdean escudos (9.06 euros), for a total of 745,611 shares requested.

At the time, the shareholder structure of the bank changed little, as the CGD/Banco Interatlântico group remained the largest shareholder.

At teh presentation of the new board, de Sousa said that 2010 was expected to be a year for consolidation of the market and for supporting Cape Verdean companies, taking into consideration reservations in relation to the international financial crisis.