BBVA has kicked off the sale of a portfolio of 600 million euros in non-performing mortgages, a process that is part of the bank’s interest in improving its capital ratio. The entity chaired by Carlos Torres has hired Alantra to carry out an orderly process of these loans, a transaction that is expected to go to market in the coming days, according to Bloomberg. This is one of the largest portfolios that BBVA has brought to market in recent years and, moreover, comes at a critical time for the bank, which is in the midst of a takeover bid to try to acquire rival Banco Sabadell.

The sale of portfolios of doubtful assets is one of the bank’s formulas for freeing up provisions and, with them, improving its capital ratios. A reasoning that seems to be behind both BBVA’s move and the portfolio that Sabadell has also put on the market.

The Catalan entity has put up for sale the third portfolio of doubtful loans it has launched so far this year, a portfolio comprising 380 million euros in unpaid consumer and SME loans. These are unsecured loans, which are usually sold to opportunistic funds at significant discounts. Between 2023 and 2024, BBVA has also placed three portfolios on the market with a total volume of €1,100 million.

Original Story: El Confidencial
Edition and translation: Prime Yield