DDC European Investment Series, Spain’s NPL Market, Enrich - Sareb

Welcome to Capital Markets Today and the DDC Financials’ series of European Investment Forum podcasts.  Capital Markets Today listeners can use code NSCM30 for a 30% discount to the European Investment Summit being held in Miami USA on March 8 & 9th 2017

The global financial crisis decimated Spain’s real estate development market and increased the NPL ratio from 1 per cent pre-crisis to more than 10 per cent in 2012. This translated into Spanish banks holding more than €500 billion of distressed assets at the peak of the crisis.

Thanks to a comprehensive restructuring of the Spanish financial sector, which included the creation of the Spanish “bad bank” Sareb, which absorbed more than €50 billion of distressed assets, the Spanish banks have been able to reduce the total volume of distressed assets to approximately €215 billion, of which approximately €85 billion are real estate owned properties (REOs).

This reduction in the volume of distressed assets has been achieved through sales of portfolios of distressed assets, which in 2015 amounted to €15 billion. This figure is likely to reach €19 billion in 2016, and will continue to rise in 2017.

Joining the broadcast today to discuss the Spanish NPL market is Manuel Enrich, Investor Relations Director for Sareb.  Sareb is the asset management company for distressed assets arising from the banking sector reorganization.