Share the article
twitter-iconcopy-link-iconprint-icon
share-icon
AgendaJune 1 2016

BESI finds a new lease of life under Haitong Securities

The former head of Banco Espírito Santo’s investment arm, José Maria Ricciardi, talks to Stefania Palma about the parent bank’s turbulent last days and how he hopes to exploit its established European network in his new position as the chief executive of Haitong Bank.
Share the article
twitter-iconcopy-link-iconprint-icon
share-icon

In late 2013, tensions among senior management at Portugal’s Banco Espírito Santo (BES) were running high. At a board meeting in Lisbon, the chief executive of BES’s investment bank (BESI), José Maria Ricciardi, wanted to give a vote of no confidence to his cousin and BES president Ricardo Silva Salgado, believing BES’s turmoil at the time to be Mr Salgado’s doing.

“As a member of a board of a bank, when you are confronted with activity that can be criminal or non-ethical, you must combat that, you must put yourself against it, you must denounce it – even if you had nothing to do with it,” says Mr Ricciardi. “At the time it was hard because I was alone. People thought [wanting to vote against Mr Salgado] was awful of me – and when you have family mixed in it is even more difficult. But before belonging to a family, I had a duty to the regulators, the market and other stakeholders.”

To continue reading, join our community and benefit from

  • In-depth coverage across key markets
  • Comments from financial leaders and policymakers worldwide
  • Regional/country bank rankings and awards
Activate your free trial