Macau-based Portuguese bank BNU has donated 100,000 patacas (US$12,500) to the Holy House of Mercy of Macau (SCMM) to help the Macanese fraternity support the government’s measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, public broadcaster TDM-Radio Macau has reported.
According to the report, BNU CEO Carlos Álvares presented the donation to SCMM President António José de Freitas at the charitable organisation’s headquarters in Largo do Senado on Friday.
The Holy House of Mercy has been supporting the community since 1569. It is the oldest European alms-house in the Far East.
The term “Macanese” customarily refers to Macau’s residents of mixed Portuguese and Asian descent and the community’s diaspora. Some 2 percent of local residents are estimated to be members of the Macanese community.
BNU is fully owned by Portugal’s state-owned savings bank CGD. BNU is one of Macau’s two note-issuing banks, alongside the local branch of Bank of China (BOC).
The bank donated 100,000 patacas to Catholic social service organisation Caritas Macau on Wednesday. It also opened an account to raise funds for the organisation’s activities in support of the government’s COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
