Portugal’s ESFG Files for Bankruptcy on Failed Protection

Espirito Santo Financial Group SA, part of a Portuguese family empire that unraveled in the wake of soured loans, was forced to file for bankruptcy after a court rejected a request for creditor protection.

The board’s decision follows a ruling by a Luxembourg court on Oct. 3, rejecting the July request, ESFG said in a regulatory filing today. While Banco Espirito Santo SA, formerly partly owned by ESFG, received a 4.9 billion-euro ($6.3 billion) rescue by the Bank of Portugal in August, the court ruled a restructuring of ESFG was “impossible.”