Portugal's troubled Espirito Santo clan was forced to sell a chunk of the bank it founded and accept independent managers on Monday after the lender's links to the family unsettled international markets.
An audit of the family-owned holding companies behind Banco Espirito Santo found financial irregularities that raised the prospect of potentially destabilising losses at the country's largest listed bank.
The news last week sent Portugal's debt and stock markets into turmoil that spread to Europe as well as other firms in the Espirito Santo family's sphere.
Portugal Telecom, waiting to be reimbursed on over $1bn in debt issued by one of the family holding companies, was hard hit.
Pressured by Portugal's central bank, BES announced on Monday that its board had put in place new executives - including economist Vitor Bento as chief executive - hastening changes not due to happen until the end of the month in order to distance itself from the family group.
Bento is joined by new chief financial officer Joao Moreira Rato, who headed Portugal's IGCP debt agency, and new deputy CEO Jose Honorio.
