Organisation: Banco Espirito Santo
LEI UBGVXZLX4SCS302CM391, SWIFT BESCKYKX

Banco Espírito Santo e Comercial de Lisboa (BES) traces its origins back to the second half of the 19th century, when José Maria do Espírito Santo Silva established a foreign exchange business. The Bank was founded in March 1920, with an original capital of PTE 3.6 million, as the outcome of an upgrade of the then already-existing banking house of Espírito Santo Silva. Banco Espírito Santo grew rapidly during subsequent years. Its branch network spread out all over Portugal, and the share capital doubled with assets rising to ten times their initial figure. At home, Banco Espírito Santo operates the largest single integrated network of branches, with over 479 locations spread throughout Portugal. In its move towards building up an integrated financial group, BES has major holdings in a number of banks and companies, among which the following are of particular importance: Banco Internacional de Crédito, based in Lisbon, whose core activities are commercial, mortgage and private banking; Companhia de Seguros Tranquilidade, the largest insurance company operating in Portugal; Besleasing, also the top leasing company in the country; BESI, a leading investment Bank; ESAF, a mutual and fund holding company, dedicated to securities and property, in Portugal and abroad. Other companies undertaking a wide spectrum of business activities such as factoring, retail and consumer credit, credit cards, brokerage, information systems and EDP, medical care and security services are also part of the BES Group. BES enjoys the highest rating among Portuguese banks, namely those granted by Standard & Poor's and Moody's: A and A2, for medium and long term; A1 and P1 for short term, respectively. Banco Espirito Santo has also consistently been the most profitable bank in Portugal, constituting one of the major names quoted on the Lisbon Stock Exchange