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The article discusses failed banking company Banco Espírito Santo SA's use of off-balance-sheet funding vehicles prior to its collapse in 2014. As early as 2002 the bank was establishing such vehicles to help it raise capital. These activities helped the bank create the mistaken impression that it had ample access to external funding. The bank-controlled vehicles were typically located in off-shore tax havens with minimal disclosure laws.

The article discusses the financial services company Credit Suisse Group AG's sale of securities issued by offshore investment vehicles, such as Top Renda and EuroAforro Investments that are controlled by the financial company Eurofin Holding SA, to retail customers of the bank Banco Espírito Santo SA, which led to the collapse and alleged fraud and accounting problems of Espírito.

The article discusses the decline of the Portuguese Espírito Santo business empire. Dating back to 1869, the commercial interests of the Espírito Santo family have grown to include a wide range of businesses including those in mining and real estate, as well as Portugal's second-largest bank, Banco Espírito Santo SA. The bank failed in the summer of 2014, and particular attention is paid to the activities of financing firm Eurofin Holding SA leading up to that outcome.