Espirito Santo Family’s Swift Fall From Grace Jolts Portugal

For Portugal, the Espirito Santo family’s fall from grace has provided a rare peek into the nation’s more-than-a-century-old banking dynasty.

The family that zealously guards its privacy was thrown into the spotlight when in a matter of days in July three of Banco Espirito Santo SA’s parent companies sought creditor protection; the family’s top executive Ricardo Espirito Santo Silva Salgado, 70, was held in a tax fraud and money-laundering probe after he stepped down as the bank’s chief executive officer; and the lender founded by his great-grandfather lost 3.18 billion euros ($4.3 billion) of its market value in a month as its shares plunged 82 percent.