27 April 2018
The agreement affects properties worth a total of 5.400 billion euros. Haya will handle Bankia’s current portfolio and any new assets that may be added in the future. Cerberus’ real estate manager already manages Liberbank and Cajamar’s real estate holdings.
Bankia has entrusted Haya Real Estate, the Cerberus fund’s real estate management company with full management of its real estate assets, including those from Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN). Both companies signed new agreements for the management of real estate and credit assets and the provision of services to replace those already signed in September 2013.
Likewise, Bankia reported that it had included the management contracts for unpaid debts and certain real estate assets owned by BMN at the time.
Haya Real Estate will handle all of Bankia’s current stock of assets, as well as any new assets that the financial institution may acquire in the future. As reported by the bank, the agreement currently affects a portfolio worth a total of 5.4 billion euros.
Bankia added that this operation would not have an impact on the group’s accounts. With this transaction, the financial institution concludes the reorganisation of its real estate business and unpaid debts ” to increase efficiency after its merger with BMN.”
Currently, Haya also manages a package of 52,000 loans from Sareb and exclusively sells real estate and developer loans to Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar. It also exclusively manages Liberbank’s real estate holdings.
The bank chaired by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri presented its accounts for the first quarter of 2018 this Friday. The bank saw profits fall by 25% due to the absence of extraordinary items and the merger with BMN. Specifically, the company achieved an attributable profit of 229 million euros, compared to €304 million in the same period in 2017.
Agreement With BBVA
In addition to this agreement with Bankia, Cerberus will finalise the purchase of 80% of BBVA’s real estate business next September, for around 4 billion euros, according to the fund’s financial director, Jaime Sáenz de Tejada. In total, Cerberus will acquire some 78,000 real estate assets with a book value of approximately 13 billion euros and the assets and employees necessary for its management.
Original Story: Bolsamanía – Virginia Palomo
Translation: Richard Turner