Espirito Santo Financial Group (ESFG), which once held 25% of the bailed-out Portuguese lender Banco Espirito Santo, has filed for bankruptcy after a Luxembourg court rejected its request for creditor protection.

Espirito Santo said it expects the court to consider a bankruptcy order and appoint one or more receivers at a hearing today.

Espirito Santo International and Rio Forte Investments, two other units involved in Espirito Santo’s complex ownership structure, are still seeking creditor protection.

ESFG was forced to seek creditor protection, joining parent companies Espirito Santo International and Rioforte Investments, after failing to meet debt obligations following the disclosure of losses on loans across the holding company.

Banco Espirito Santo, one of Portugal’s largest financial institutions, was bailed out in August this year and its businesses were transferred to a new company called Novo Banco.

The rescue of Banco Espírito Santo came just months after Portugal itself emerged from a €78bn, three-year bailout financed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

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