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| Additional information |
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| Espírito Santo Financial Group S.A. (ESFG) |
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Overview:
ESFG is a fully integrated financial services holding company with investments in sound financial institutions. It has a leading position in the banking and insurance markets in Portugal and, through its principal banking subsidiary Banco Espírito Santo Group (“BES Group”) as well as other banking operations in Switzerland, France and the UAE, has a broad geographic reach. ESFG’s international presence aims to support Portuguese firms and individuals abroad by covering the countries with cultural affinities with Portugal.
The components of BES Group are principally Banco Espírito Santo (“BES”), the second largest publically quoted commercial bank in Portugal, and the largest publically quoted Portuguese bank by market capitalisation. It and its subsidiaries, namely BES Investment, a major Iberian investment bank, operate in Portugal, Spain, Angola and Brazil and ESAF-Espírito Santo Activos Financeiros, a major fund management company. In aggregate BES Group is estimated to have held an average market share of 21.2% in Portugal in December 2009. Internationally BES Group is present in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde Islands, China, Spain and the USA through small operational subsidiaries. ESFG has further banking and private banking interests in Switzerland through Banque Privée Espírito Santo, in France though Banque Espírito Santo et de la Vénétie and in Dubai through ES Bankers (Dubai).
The insurance group is composed of Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade (“Tranquilidade”) engaged in non-life agent and direct distribution; T-Vida, a spin-off life company resulting from the purchase by Tranquilidade of agent-originated portfolio of BES Vida ; BES Vida, life company formerly known as Tranquilidade Vida, focusing on life bancassurance; BES Seguros, non-life company, formerly known as Espírito Santo Seguros, focusing on non-life bancassurance. Tranquilidade also offers direct insurance through its fully owned subsidiary LOGO.
In the healthcare sector, through Espírito Santo Saude, ESFG owns and operates a total of 18 hospitals and outpatient clinics, residential hospitals and senior citizen residences. |
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History:
ESFG was established in Luxembourg in 1984, though its predecessor company was established in 1975. However the history of the Espírito Santo Financial Group reaches back to 1884, when a bank, which later was to become Banco Espírito Santo ("BES"), was established in Lisbon by José Maria Espírito Santo.
In 1935, an insurance company, which was later to become Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade ("Tranquilidade"), was added to the group.
By 1975 BES, Tranquilidade, as well as all other Portuguese banks and insurance companies were nationalized, an event which forced the Espírito Santo Group to seek and develop business outside of Portugal, using the purposely established ESFG as a platform. Such initial businesses were located in Brazil, France, Switzerland and the United States. ESFG continues to operate banking activities in these regions either independently or through BES. In 2008 ESFG launched ES Bankers (Dubai) an investment and wealth management operation based in the UAE.
In the period of 1989 to 1992, ESFG was able to recover control of BES and Tranquilidade, which were being privatized by the Portuguese government. In the following years, further units were added to these two companies; in the banking area, an investment bank, a stockbrokerage company, and asset management company and other companies were added to BES, forming the BES Group, which consolidates with ESFG.
Tranquilidade, ESFG’s principal insurance investment, was later joined by two new companies, Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade Vida and Espírito Santo Seguros.
In 2006 changes were made in the ESFG insurance companies which resulted in the following: Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade and T-Vida, a new company set up in 2006, both consolidate directly with ESFG. BES Vida (formerly Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade Vida) and BES Seguros (formerly Espírito Santo Seguros) both consolidate with Banco Espírito Santo. |
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