CaixaBank, Sabadell & Kutxabank Sell Jointly €2.4 Bn in Non-Performing Loans

8/05/2014 – Expansion

Vulture funds prep for new carcass drop. Many banking entities and among them CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Kutxabank are giving the finishing touch to launch at least €2.4 billion in nonperforming loans.

It is expected that the three transactions will have been closed by the end of June so that the banks could add gains and cut-off default scope in their biannual balance reports.

Loan portfolios of CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell and Kutxabank contain all types of nonperfoming loans: customer lent to individuals, to SMEs (with and without collateral property) and big companies (some of them property-backed).

The three operations ought to be added to two other ongoing sales of CaixaBank and Fortress (Santander´s loans). Altogether, they amass a €4.5 billion volume of NPLs.

Once CaixaBank transferred the credits inside the “Flanders Project“, it is going to put up for sale another lot of default €1 billion. Unlike the first sale, the second called the “Valonia Project” will include €700 million in default without any guarantee and €350 million of property-backed loans. More than a half of the credits belongs to companies in bankruptcy process which suspended payments in 2009. Also, more than 50% of them are located in Andalusia (where Banca Cívica operated) and Madrid.

In turn, Sabadell that announced sale of €1 billion in NPLs in February claims that it prefers to shed them and focus on its Solvia instead of collecting the debt. Last year, the entity sold a default portfolio inside the €632 million worth “Garbi Project” to Elliot and Lindorff for €41 million.

When it comes to Kutxabank, the transaction is less complex as the bank sells only customer loans of individuals and SMEs without property as collateral. The Basque group´s lot is worth €350 million and includes 47.000 loans which have been defaulting since 2008. Nearly half of the portfolio corresponds to debtors in Andalusia (through Cajasur).

 

Original article: Expansión (by J. Zuloaga & S. Saborit)

Translation: AURA REE