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BNP Paribas: Property Sales by Banks Amounted to €73.5bn in 9 Months to September

30 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Financial institutions are continuing to put their real estate on the market. The sale of portfolios of real estate assets by banks is expected to amount to €16.5 billion between October and December, according to the latest report published by BNP Paribas Real Estate.

The entity’s latest report reflects that sales amounting to €73.5 billion were made during the nine months to September. “The pressure that the European Central Bank is exerting on the financial entities to ensure that they do not speculate with the assets they hold on their balance sheets is generating a wave of sales of large portfolios of residential assets”, said David Alonso, Director of Research at BNP Paribas España, according to reports from Cinco Días.

The largest operations undertaken so far this year relate to Banco Santander, with the sale of Project Quasar to the investment fund Blackstone for €30 billion; the sale by the bank BBVA of Project Marina to Cerberus for €13 billion; and the sale by CaixaBank to LoneStar of 80% of its real estate business for €12.8 billion.

Despite the eye-wateringly large figures highlighted in the report, the funds acquiring the properties tend to obtain an average discount of 65% and so the final prices are considerably lower than the nominal value in each case. “The main buyers are opportunistic investment funds and when it comes to completing their purchases, they typically demand discounts of between 50% and 80% of the asset value”, explained Alonso.

The arrival of new players with an appetite for the Spanish real estate market, such as the Socimis, investment funds and joint ventures, has boosted the purchase of several debt portfolios from bank entities in recent years. “They are agents that were not present six years ago; with these purchases, they have helped the banks to significantly reduce the property on their balance sheets, and they have also increased the control over loans to property developers and the management of residential buildings for profit”, said Alonso.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake