Popular Puts €1,500M Macro RE Portfolio Up For Sale

6 June 2017 – Voz Pópuli

(…). The entity chaired by Emilio Saracho (pictured above) has launched an express plan to sell its problem assets and one of the key elements is the sale of the largest real estate portfolio to come onto the market in Spain since 2015. The portfolio of properties has been designed by KPMG, and has an initial value of between €1,500 million and €2,000 million, according to financial sources consulted by Vozpópuli. This is part of the plan that the entity is presenting to the ECB today to regain the confidence of the regulators. (…).

In addition, Saracho has spent the last few days meeting with investment banks to see how to accelerate the unblocking of Popular’s problem assets. (…).

The sale of problem assets is critical for Banco Popular regardless of its future. The heavy weight of those assets (worth €37,000 million) is the source of this entity’s problems, which have been further compounded in recent months by its capital and liquidity troubles and the risk of claims. (…).

For this reason, Banco Popular needs to accelerate the sale of the €36,800 million that it owns in toxic assets as soon as possible. Above all, it needs to focus on its foreclosed assets, which have the lowest level of coverage (38.5%) and which most concern the market and potential buyers. To bring the provisioning level of its properties in line with the levels adopted by BBVA and Santander, Popular would need to recognise (additional provisions of) around €1,500 million to €2,000 million.

Under the spotlight

With the sale of portfolios such as the one being advised by KPMG, Banco Popular would reduce some of its problems. Even so, financial sources doubt that the short term future of the entity is going to be determined by operations such as this one (…). Rather, they add, that this is a way of getting ahead with the work, regardless of the solution.

In this sense, the banks that are considering submitting a bid for Banco Popular have been making contact with opportunistic funds and investment banks over the last few weeks to work out how to share out the Spanish entity: the good bank could go to Santander, BBVA and Bankia, and the problem assets could go to overseas investors.

The key to accelerating the unblocking of the real estate assets is the prices that Banco Popular can accept on the basis of its provisions. Currently, the foreclosed assets are recognised on the balance sheet at 60% of their initial values, well above the values demanded by the opportunistic funds, which are closer to 30-40% of their initial values (…).

The portfolio that Popular is preparing represents one of the largest currently up for sale in Europe and the fourth largest to go on the market in Spain ever, after: Project Hércules, involving €6,400 million in problematic mortgages from Catalunya Banc, which was acquired by Blackstone; Project Octopus, containing €4,500 million in Eurohypo loans, which were purchased by Lone Star and JPMorgan; and Project Big Bang, which saw Bankia put most of its foreclosed assets up for sale, in a deal that it negotiated to the end with Cerberus, but which failed to close.

The two main favourites to acquire this latest portfolio are Blackstone and Apollo, the two funds that have been buying Popular’s other portfolios to date, albeit smaller ones, averaging around €400 million to €500 million. The entity currently has another process underway, involving a €500 million portfolio, which is being coordinated by Irea, and in which the following entities are competing: Oaktree, Apollo, Bank of America and Bain Capital.

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by Jorge Zuloaga)

Translation: Carmel Drake