Portugal 
Italy 
Greece 
6 July 2015 – Expansión
On Friday, Ibercaja closed the sale of a portfolio of non-performing loans, worth €210 million, to the US fund Seer Capital. The operation generated gross profits of almost €10 million for the Aragonese entity.
The portfolio contained doubtful unsecured loans, which were all fully provisioned, as well as non-performing loans.
Like other institutions, Ibercaja has accelerated the sale of problematic loans in recent years to devote its resources to productive assets and obtain profits on loans that it has already written off.
Ibercaja sold a similar portfolio in 2013, worth €540 million, to the US fund Yorvik and Savier Asset Management, owned by Javier Botín.
This is the first transaction that Seer Capital has undertaken in Spain. The fund was created in 2008 by Philip Weingord, former director of Deutsche Bank. The US firm manages assets worth €1,806 million, including mortgages, syndicated loans, SME loans and consumer finance with some kind of default (non-payment).
Other divestments
Moreover, Ibercaja Banco has refocused its strategy in recent months to take on a more active role in the market. Thus, the entity has engaged KPMG as an external advisor to perform the preparatory work towards an IPO in the coming years. The entity has until the end of 2018 to list on the stock exchange and so it has recently begun to explore that option in more detail.
In addition, a few weeks ago, the entity began a process to transfer the majority of the properties on its balance sheet. In total, the Aragonese group has put €800 million of foreclosed assets up for sale, including 6,900 residential units; 1,300 commercial premises and industrial buildings; and 600 plots of land. The transaction, known as Project Kite, is being advised by N+1.
Original story: Expansión (by J. Z.)
Translation: Carmel Drake