Bankia puts loan portfolio up for sale

Spanish bank Bankia has made a €180 million portfolio of non-core loans available for sale, according to a report in Spanish newspaper Expansión, Real Estate Capital's sister publication Private Debt Investor reported.

Spanish bank Bankia has made a €180 million portfolio of non-core loans available for sale, according to a report in Spanish newspaper Expansión, Real Estate Capital’s sister publication Private Debt Investor reported.

Madrid, Spain

The portfolio largely consists of loans to property developers. It is being marketed as “Project Gold”, according to the reports.

Last year, Bankia sold €455 million of non-core debt across several transactions, reducing its “doubtful debt” balance by 12.5 percent.

According to a report from investment banking firm Evercore, Spain saw approximately €9.2 billion worth of real estate loans sold last year. The country ranks behind Ireland, the Netherlands and Italy—all of which saw a larger number of loans sold in 2016.

Spanish banks have continued the sell-off in 2017. Bain Capital Credit, for example, purchased €364 million worth of real estate loans in early January from an unnamed Spanish institution.

A spokeswoman from Bankia did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.