The main shareholder of Banco Espirito Santo (Bes), the holding Espirito Santo Financial Group (Esfg) of the Portuguese family of the same name, announced that it has reduced its stake in the bank's capital from 24,99% to 20,1%, in to be able to pay off outstanding debts.
Last week, the difficulties of the Portuguese holding had created strong nervousness on the European markets, sparking fears that a possible default could have caused a domino effect in the banks of the European region, thus leading to a new systemic crisis.
Meanwhile, Bes also announced the entry into office of the new management, which should have taken over the reins of the institute at the end of July. The acceleration of the exchange rate at the top came after pressure from the Bank of Portugal, which asked to distance the institution from the financial problems of the founding family.
ESFG previously appointed economist Vitor Bento as new CEO and Joao Moreira Rato as chief financial officer. Jose Honorio becomes deputy CEO. The trio of managers take over from family members, including patriarch Ricardo Espirito Santo Salgado.
