You are here

BOCH eyes a €0.45 billion loan sale

22/11/2017 10:09
Bank of Cyprus, the island’s largest lender is pursuing a sale of a package of loans amounting to €450 million as part of its efforts to reduce its non-performing loans which amounted to €9.16 billion or 46.7% of its total loan book by end-September.

The Group is actively exploring alternative avenues to accelerate the reduction of NPLs, the bank said in its financial results for the period ended on 30 September, issued yestreday.

“The gross value of c.€450 mn of the loan portfolio classified as held for sale as at 30 September 2017, in line with IFRS 5, includes NPEs of c.€370 mn, mainly corporate and SMEs,” the bank said, adding it is “continuing to explore other structured solutions to accelerate de-risking potentially in the near term, in one or more transactions.”

This classification of the certain loan portfolio as held for sale is the second action announced by the bank as part of its “non-organic” reduction of its stock of non-performing loans, as the bank also announced today the launching of listed Real Estate fund in Cyprus of a size of c.€190 million.

The fund, registered as an Alternative Investment Fund in the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, will be listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange, subject to meeting certain conditions.