The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that alongside debt recovery specialist APS it is taking over a portfolio of “around 2,000 sub-performing and non-performing loans” with a nominal value of some €400mn in Romania, sold by Piraeus Bank.
The EBRD said that the transaction will support the functioning of the Romanian banking sector, facilitating the return of blocked collateral to the economy and helping borrowers exit bankruptcy proceedings.
“It also frees up [non-performing loan] NPL servicing capacity, enabling the local financial market to originate new lending,” according to the EBRD’s press release. The EBRD’s participation in the deal is 30%.
The portfolio includes unsecured loans and loans secured with real estate collateral in Romania.
Greek multinational financial services company Piraeus Bank has had no subsidiary in Romania since 2018.
Piraeus Bank sold its Romanian subsidiary to J.C. Flowers in June 2018 (with the EBRD as a co-investor with a 19% stake). J.C. Flowers changed the bank's name to First Bank in September 2018 and is currently in the process of selling it to Intesa Sanpaolo. Piraeus Bank Romania had total assets of €1.5bn at the end of Q3, 2017 – the latest data available before it was taken over by J.C. Flowers.
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