A Ruína do BES

Episode 4

On a hot Sunday night in August 2014, television broadcasts are interrupted by a statement to the nation. The Governor of the Bank of Portugal announces that BES has just gone bankrupt. Deposits were saved; the rest remained uncertain. The government did not intervene. Portugal lost its largest financial group. As collateral damage, Portugal Telecom collapsed. Meanwhile, retail clients discovered that their savings in commercial paper were not, in fact, protected. Protests erupted in the streets. Ten years later, thousands of people are still awaiting compensation.