The Espírito Santo Financial Group (ESFG) was a Portuguese holding company with headquarters in Luxembourg, founded in 1984.

The flagship of ESFG is the Banco Espírito Santo(BES), a full-service bank based in Lisbon.

[3] In addition to the Banco Espirito Santo in Portugal, Azores and Madeira, BES has branches in Luanda, as well as branches or offices in São Paulo, Praia, Madrid, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Warsaw, Lausanne, Macau, Panama City, Dubai, Miami, New York City, Caracas and the Cayman Islands.

[6] Long time CEO, Ricardo Salgado resigned in July 2014, on pressure by the Bank of Portugal.

[14][15] On 18 July 2014 the Espirito Santo family’s holding company, which owns a stake in Portugal’s second-largest bank, has filed for creditor protection, meaning that it is bankrupt.