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Santander to Sell Two Portfolios of Land and NPLs Worth Nearly €6 Billion

21 October 2019 – Santander is finalising plans to sell two major portfolios of NPLs and REOs, worth a total of approximately 6 billion euros. The bank has already contacted major potential investors to prepare themselves to analyse two portfolios: €2.7 in NPLs, called the Project Atlas, and another €3 billion in land.

Santander has been analysing the portfolios since the spring of this year. The bank is looking to increase the pace at which it is reducing its exposure to the Spanish real estate market. According to publicly available data, Santander had €12 billion worth of NPLs and another €10 billion in foreclosed properties as of June.

These would be the financial institution’s largest divestments since 2017, when it sold €30 billion in assets it had inherited from Banco Popular to Blackstone. Market sources believe that the bank will only finalise the sale during the first quarter of 2020, due to its size and complexity.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Jorge Zuloaga & Ruth Ugalde

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner