NPL&REO News

Brazil’s default rate hits record, affecting 73.5 million consumers

30 January, 2026

Brazil’s default rate reached a record high at the end of 2025, with 73.5 million people overdue on their debts, equivalent to around 44% of the country’s adult population, according to data released by Serasa Experian and reported by Diário do Comércio.

The increase was driven mainly by long-standing debts, with a significant share of unpaid obligations overdue for four to five years. Traditionally, December brings some financial relief due to the payment of the thirteenth-month salary, but this was insufficient to reverse the upward trend in defaults.

High levels of delinquency are weighing on both households and businesses. Consumers face restricted access to credit, while retailers report slower cash flow and greater uncertainty when planning investments for the year ahead.

Data show that individuals aged 30 to 39 account for the largest share of defaulters, with men and women affected in similar proportions. Regionally, the South of Brazil recorded the sharpest annual increase in defaults, followed by the North, Northeast, Southeast and Centre-West.

In addition to the growing number of people in arrears, the average amount owed and the number of debts per consumer also rose compared with the previous year, reinforcing concerns about the resilience of household finances in the months ahead.

Fonte: Diário do Comércio | Author: Mara Bianchetti
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Spanish banks cut bad loans by €312m in November, keep delinquency at lowest level since 2008

29 January, 2026

Spanish banks reduced their stock of non-performing loans by €312 million in November 2025, while the overall delinquency rate remained at its lowest level since 2008, according to data published by the Bank of Spain and reported by Demócrata.

Figures show that the total amount of doubtful loans stood at €34.21 billion in November, down from the previous month. The delinquency ratio — the share of loans classified as doubtful relative to total credit — fell to 2.78%, marking its lowest point in more than 17 years.

The total volume of credit granted by Spanish lenders continued to rise, reaching approximately €1.23 trillion, reflecting ongoing credit extension to households and businesses.

Among different types of lenders, traditional banks, savings banks and cooperatives saw their bad-loan ratios improve, while some smaller financial institutions reported slight variations in their numbers.

Economists have attributed the decline in bad loans to both stronger economic conditions and active risk management by banks, including more effective debt recovery strategies.

Source: Demócrata
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Alantra advised on BBVA’s first NPL portfolio sale in Portugal

23 January, 2026

Alantra advised BBVA Portugal on the sale of a portfolio of non-performing loans (NPLs) and properties received as collateral. The value of the portfolio was not disclosed.

The portfolio consisted of two distinct segments: a segment of secured NPLs, predominantly backed by high-end residential properties, and the seller’s entire exposure to properties received in lieu of payment.

Alantra said in a statement that it ‘played a key role in designing and executing a competitive sale process, ensuring strong investor engagement and aligning bidder expectations.’

This mandate also represents BBVA’s first portfolio sale in Portugal and reflects the trust placed in Alantra by long-standing clients, as the firm continues to support the group in various regions.

Joel Grau, partner at Alantra, believes that “this transaction clearly demonstrates our end-to-end execution capabilities in NPLs and secured repossessed properties. We are proud to have supported BBVA Portugal in achieving this strategic milestone and look forward to continuing our collaboration in different markets.”

This transaction reinforces Alantra’s recent track record of advising financial institutions, including the sale of Hipoges to Finsolutia, with the support of Pollen Street Capital; the transfer of a €450 million portfolio of non-performing SME assets from Alpha Bank to Waterwheel Capital Management; the securitisation and transfer of a €300 million NPE portfolio from Piraeus Bank to an affiliate of Waterwheel Capital Management; and the sale of performing credit exposures from Banco Santander Totta.

Original Story: Jornal Económico | Autor: Maria Teixeira Alves
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Mortgage NPL Ratio Falls to Lowest Level Since 2008

22 January, 2026

Spain’s mortgage non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 1.85% at the end of the third quarter of 2025, its lowest level since December 2008, according to data from the Bank of Spain.

The figure comes from the latest arrears bulletin published by the Spanish Mortgage Association (AHE), based on central bank data. The mortgage NPL ratio declined due both to a reduction in the volume of non-performing mortgage loans and an increase in the overall stock of mortgages.

Specifically, the volume of non-performing mortgage loans fell by 20.9% year on year to €9.14 billion, while declining by 7.9% on a quarterly basis.

Total outstanding mortgage lending reached €491.87 billion in the third quarter, up 0.8% compared with the previous quarter and 3% higher than in the same period of 2024.

Meanwhile, the loan portfolio for home renovation also showed a favourable trend in asset quality. Its NPL ratio improved by 0.6 percentage points year on year to 3%, although it remained unchanged from the second quarter.

In the corporate segment, the NPL ratio for loans to the construction sector stood at 7.2%, slightly higher than in the second quarter but below the 8% recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2024.

Finally, the real estate activities portfolio closed September with an NPL ratio of 1.8%, down from 1.9% in the previous quarter and 2.5% in the third quarter of the previous year.

Original Story: Idealista | Author: Europa Press
Edition and translation: Prime Yield
Image by Jörg Hertle from Pixabay

Major banks are increasing their exposure to the real estate sector

19 January, 2026

Greece’s major banking groups are making a comeback to domestic real estate, currently running investment programs exceeding €1.5 billion. The overarching aim is to increase exposure in the real estate sector, after the large divestments during the financial crisis.

This is a strategy that serves multiple purposes, from generating stable revenue and profit streams, to reducing operating costs, as some of the properties acquired are self-occupied to meet housing needs. As a rule, however, these are moves made to enrich the banks’ portfolios with income properties, such as “green” office buildings, shopping malls and logistics centers.

The most recent agreement concerns the decision by the National Bank of Greece to repurchase dozens of properties that currently house its services, from brick-and-mortar branches to central offices. It is a portfolio worth €510.5 million, owned by Prodea Investments, which until today is leased by NBG.

The transaction is expected to be completed during the first half of 2026, ensuring a significant reduction in its operating expenses, as it will no longer pay rents, while adding important realty assets to their portfolios.

Original Story: Ekathimerini | Author: Nikos Roussanoglou
Edition: Prime Yield

BBVA Launches €380m “Project Terral” NPL Sale

15 January, 2026

BBVA SA is working to sell a portfolio of approximately €380 million in non-performing loans as part of its efforts to clean up its balance sheet.

The Spanish lender has already begun talks with potential investors regarding the portfolio, which includes loans linked to around 3,900 properties across Spain, according to a sales document reviewed by Bloomberg News.

KPMG is acting as adviser on the sale, which has been dubbed Project Terral.

According to the document, BBVA has asked interested investors to submit non-binding bids by the end of January.

The bank expects to receive binding offers by mid-March, with the final signing of the deal anticipated to take place in April.

Original Story: Investing.com
Translation and edition: Prime Yield
Image by moerschy from Pixabay

Alantra advised Unicre on the sale of €150 million in NPL

14 January, 2026

Alantra acted as advisor to Unicre on the disposal of its non-performing consumer credit exposures in Portugal, with a total gross book value of approximately €150 million. This was prior to the closing of the sale of Unibanco to Novobanco.

Alantra advised Unicre on the sale of its non-performing consumer credit portfolio with a total gross book value of approximately €150 million.

The portfolio comprised all credit card and personal loan agreements more than 90 days past due and marks the first and only competitive sale of Unicre’s loan portfolios. Last year, Unicre announced that it had sold Unibanco, its consumer credit unit, to Novobanco. This has already been given the green light by the Competition Authority.

This transaction represents the final phase of Unicre’s exit from the consumer credit segment and follows the previously announced agreement for the sale of Unicre’s performing consumer credit business to Novobanco, in which Alantra also acts as exclusive financial advisor.

This operation has enabled Unicre to fully dispose of its NPL exposures, maximise recoveries and complete the liquidation of its consumer finance activities, with full recognition of profits in the 2025 financial year.

Original Story: Jornal Económico | Author: Maria Teixeira Alves
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Net credit expansion until October

12 January, 2026

A small recovery in housing loans is recorded by the Bank of Greece’s data for October, which is mainly attributed to the strengthening of disbursements through the “My Home II” program.

The central bank’s data reflect this trend as the net flow of financing – i.e. new loans after the repayments of previous debts – moved into positive territory, recording a net credit expansion of 30 million euros since the beginning of the year.

In the business loan sector, the net flow of financing was negative by approximately €1.4 billion, a development attributed to the weakening of new loans after the peak traditionally observed at the end of each quarter – i.e. in September.

Original Story: Ekathimerini
Edition: Prime Yield

Brazilian Banks See Slower Credit Growth in 2026, With Slight Rise in Delinquencies

7 January, 2026

Brazilian banks expect credit expansion to lose momentum in 2026, while loan delinquency should tick up slightly, according to a survey released by Febraban, the Brazilian banking federation.

The survey shows banks estimate that total credit grew 9.2% in 2025, but they now forecast a more modest increase of 8.2% in 2026. Even so, the outlook represents a slight improvement from earlier projections, supported mainly by government-backed lending programs for companies and the continued resilience of the housing credit market, which has helped offset weaker growth in rural lending.

Delinquency remains a key concern. Banks expect the default rate to remain at 5.1% in 2025, before rising marginally to 5.2% in 2026. The figures suggest that, despite expectations of an interest-rate easing cycle, borrower stress is not expected to decline meaningfully in the near term.

Febraban said the data reflect a credit market that is still expanding, but at a gradually slower pace, with risks linked to repayment capacity still on the radar.

Original Story: MSN
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Banks are turning to synthetic securitizations

6 January, 2026

Greek banks are turning to securitizations of performing loans in an effort to free up capital and strengthen their ability to provide new loans to the economy.

Through synthetic securitizations, as performing-loan securitizations are called, banks have strengthened their liquidity pipeline with new loans of up to approximately €10 billion over the last five years and for the next two years.

Unlike “classic” securitization, where banks mainly sell nonperforming loans in their attempt to clean up their balance sheets, in synthetic securitizations the loans that are securitized are performing.

This tool is now being used massively by three of Greece’s four systemic banks – Alpha, Eurobank and Piraeus, with National Bank being the only one that has not used this tool due to the excess capital it has – in their attempt to finance the economy with new loans without burdening their capital ratios.

Eurobank has already securitized loans worth over €7 billion through successive such transactions since 2021, reducing its risk-weighted assets (RWAs) by over €2.5 billion.

The amount of RWAs released is gradually reduced based on the maturities of the bonds issued in the context of the securitization.

Accordingly, Piraeus Bank has securitized loans totaling €8.6 billion, releasing assets – after maturities – close to €2.3 billion, while Alpha Bank has securitized loans worth €3.8 billion, releasing approximately €1.8 billion.

Original Story: Ekathimerini
Edition: Prime Yield

Spain’s NPL rate falls to its lowest in 17 years

5 January, 2026

The rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) at Spanish banks fell to 2.84% in October, the lowest level since 2008, due to fewer defaults and increased lending.

This figure represents a decline from 2.87% in September and marks the lowest level since September 2008. This decline is attributed to an increase in credit and a reduction in unpaid loans, according to data released by the Bank of Spain.

NPL fell by €174 million to €34.523 billion, while the total loan portfolio grew to €1.215 trillion, up from €1.210 trillion at the end of September.

Year-on-year, the decline in NPL is even more significant. The NPL ratio has fallen from 3.41% in October 2024 to 2.84% in October 2023, supported by a €5.643 billion reduction in the balance of NPL.

Among banks, savings banks and cooperatives, the NPL ratio fell from 2.78% in September to 2.75% in October — also the lowest level in 17 years. In this segment, unpaid loans fell by €217 million in a single month to €31.99 billion.

Consumer finance companies: uneven performance

The default ratio for consumer finance companies rose from 5.31% to 5.49% in October, following a 1.43% increase in unpaid loans to 2.344 billion euros.

Despite the monthly increase, the year-on-year trend remains favourable. Delinquency in consumer finance companies has fallen from 6.68% in October 2024 to the current 5.49%, reflecting a sustained improvement in the quality of credit granted.

Original Story: The Officer | Author: Eva Santander
Edition and translation: Prime Yield