Portugal's
central bank has sought to steady investors' nerves by stating that Banco
Espirito Santo does not need extra funds.
Banco
Espirito Santo itself has said it has sufficient finances to deal with its
parent company's debt problems.
Worries
about the financial strength of the bank's parent company hit global stock
markets on Thursday.
The
central bank said investors had "no reason to doubt" the security of
funds, and savers had "no need to be worried".
Restructuring plan
On
Thursday, shares in both Banco Espirito Santo (BES) and Espirito Santo
Financial Group - which holds a 25% stake in BES - fell sharply on