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Bankia Puts €400M Toxic Asset Portfolio Up For Sale

2 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Bankia is accelerating the sale of its toxic assets. This year is set to be a key year for the banks, in general, in terms of property divestments, and Bankia is one of the firms that is working hardest to get rid of the real estate load left over on its balance sheet. The financial institution has placed on the market its largest portfolio of toxic assets in two years, worth €400 million.

Project Beetle, which is what the Spanish bank has called this macro-operation, primarily comprises non-performing loans backed by real estate collateral. When the sale closes, the company will strengthen its property divestment plan in 2018. It already disposed of one portfolio of toxic assets worth €290 million during the first quarter of the year, according to El Independiente.

The company chaired by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri has not sold such a large portfolio since December 2015. Then, it placed a portfolio worth €645 million. Last year, Bankia raised €300 million in three operations relating to assets with debt.

With the way paved for sales thanks to the investor appetite that is accompanying the upwards cycle in the real estate sector, the Spanish bank is going to continue with its divestments in 2018 without forgetting the property development market. Not in vain, Goirigolzarri has already announced that his bank will grant €400 million per year in property developer loans between now and 2020, boosted by an objective that the entity has set itself, and which appears in its strategic plan, of reaching a market share of between 7% and 8% over the next two years.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake