Deutsche Bank buys €400m Spanish loan book from Bankia

Deutsche Bank has added to its Spanish real estate debt exposure with the purchase of a portfolio of development loans with a face value of around €400 million.

The investment bank was selected by Spanish bank Bankia to buy the so-called Project Ocean loan book, according to the Spanish newspaper Expansión. The newspaper cited market sources which estimated that Deutsche Bank had bought the portfolio for less than €150 million.

Deutsche Bank has proven to be a key investor in the Spanish real estate loan market. In the first quarter of this year it closed a transaction with Bankia which saw it buy the €645 million Project Babieca real estate loan portfolio.

Investors remain keen to acquire non-performing real estate loan books and bank-owned property portfolios in Spain. Expansión also reported that Bankia is in the process of selling 2,500 apartments to Bain Capital subsidiary Sankaty.

According to Cushman & Wakefield Corporate Finance’s European Real Estate Loan Sales Market Report Q1 2016, Spain accounted for 50 percent of closed business during a quiet first quarter. In total, around €1.9 billion of debt by face-value was sold in the country during the three months. However, sales had decreased by 40 percent from the last quarter of 2015.