The Bank of Portugal is facing backlash by Banco Espirito Santo (BES) shareholders who were left with losses after the bank received a 4.9-billion-euro (6.58 billion U.S. dollars) bailout.
The BES shareholders are blaming Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa for encouraging them to invest in the country’s largest private bank.
Octavio Viana, director of the Association of Investors of Capital Markets, said shareholders are calling up the association to find out what they can do and regretting having trusted in Carlos Costa’s words, according to Portuguese Lusa News Agency.
BES saw a first-half year net loss of 3.58 billion euros and shares fell sharply on Thursday after problems including fraud and money laundering was found in audit.
The debt-laden country’s authorities have striven to restore calm regarding any spillover effects, with Portugal's central bank recently pointing out in a statement that there was no reason to be worried over the security of the bank's funds, while Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said the bank had a comfortable margin and that there would be no need for state interference.
Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa said late Sunday night that BES will be bailed out by the state in a 4.9-billion-euro rescue plan, after its shares plummeted last week.
Carlos added that the bank had been split into a "bad" and a "good" bank which would safeguard account-holders.