NPL&REO News

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

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

Total NPL stock down by €7.2 billion since September 2024

19 December, 2025

According to the latest European Risk Dashboard from the European Central Bank, the total stock of non-performing loans (NPL) held by Spanish banks has fallen by €7.2 billion over the last year. Despite this positive trend, Spain still has the second-highest volume of non-performing loans in the European Union after France, which has €126.9 billion.

At the end of the third quarter of 2024, Spain’s largest banks had €69 billion of non-performing loans on their balance sheets — €7.2 billion less than the €76.2 billion reported in the same quarter of the previous year — representing a 9.45% reduction over that period.

Compared to the €70.4 billion recorded at the end of June, the quarterly evolution shows a 2% reduction in this indicator.

Reflecting the improving quality of assets held by banks, the NPL ratio has also evolved positively, falling by 0.3 percentage points (pp) from 2.8% in Q3 2024 to 2.5% currently. Compared to the previous quarter (2.6%), the reduction was 0.1 percentage points.

NPL stock shrinks 16% in the last year

19 December, 2025

According to the latest data from the European Central Bank, the total volume of non-performing loans (NPL) in the Portuguese banking system fell by 16% in the last year, with the NPL ratio falling by 0.4 percentage points (pp) in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

The European Central Bank has released its European Risk Dashboard for Q3 2025, which confirms the ongoing improvement in the soundness of Portuguese banks. At the end of September, national banks held €4.2 billion of non-performing loans, which is a 16% decrease compared to the €5 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The quarterly trend was also positive, with non-performing loans falling by 2%, from €4.3 billion in the quarter ending in June to €4.2 billion in the quarter ending in September.

The NPL ratio fell by 0.4 percentage points from 2.4% at the end of September 2024 to close the third quarter at 2%. Compared to the previous quarter (2.1%), the decrease was 0.1 percentage points.

Source: EBA
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Banks ‘clean up’ €1.1 billion in NPLs from their balance sheets

18 December, 2025

The main Greek banks are continuing to make progress in reducing the bad debts on their balance sheets. They closed the third quarter of the year with a cumulative reduction of €1.1 billion compared to September 2024.

According to the European Central Bank’s latest European Risk Dashboard, Greece recorded an non-performing loans (NPL) volume of €5.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025, which is down 16% from the same period last year when the figure was €6.8 billion. This equates to a reduction of €1.1 billion over twelve months. Compared to the previous quarter, there was a decline of 3%, with the NPL stock falling by €200 million compared to the €5.9 billion recorded at the end of June 2025.

The NPL ratio also declined by 0.5 percentage points (p.p.), falling from 3.3% in September 2024 to 2.7% at the end of the third quarter of 2025. Despite the positive year-on-year performance, this figure remained unchanged from the previous quarter and still ranks as the third highest among European Union countries.

Source: European Central Bank
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Unicre is selling Unibanco and wants to “clear up” €160 million of bad debt

2 December, 2025

With Unibanco about to be sold to Novobanco, Unicre placed a €160 million portfolio of non-performing loans (NPL) on the market with the aim of “cleaning up” its balance sheet.

According to a presentation of the process sent to potential interested parties and seen by ECO, Unicre is finalising the sale of its consumer credit and credit card unit to Novobanco and has placed a portfolio of bad debt worth approximately €160 million on the market.

In the so-called ‘Project Summit’, the financial institution — which is owned by the largest national banks — is selling almost 20,000 problematic loans, which were mostly taken out by individuals. These loans are unsecured, with an average value of €8,000 per contract and an average default period of around seven years.

According to the portfolio description, most of these loans were granted through credit cards (€108.6 million), although there are also personal loans (€48.8 million). The majority of cases (84%) are already in court.

The transaction is being conducted by Alantra and is expected to be finalised by the end of the year. At least, that is Unicre’s intention as it seeks to “clean up” its balance sheet by selling this portfolio. With the non-binding offer phase now closed, interested parties must submit firm bids. It was not possible to ascertain which funds are in the running.

Unicre is controlled by the main national banks, including BCP (31.16%), Santander Totta (21.86%), BPI (21.01%) and Novobanco (17.5%).

The sale of Unibanco is expected to be finalised in early 2026.

This transaction coincides with Unicre’s sale of its consumer credit and credit card business, operating under the Unibanco brand launched in 2011, to Novobanco. Announced last summer, the transaction is awaiting approval from the Competition Authority and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

As part of this transaction, Novobanco will acquire Unicre’s consumer credit portfolio, including credit cards, credit consolidation and personal credit, with a net value of €262 million. Novobanco will also acquire the Unibanco brand and other assets and liabilities associated with the consumer credit business unit.

Original Story: ECO | Author: Alberto Teixeira
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Spanish bank bad debts hit 17-year low

28 November, 2025

According to the historical series of doubtful loans published monthly by the Bank of Spain, Spanish bank non-performing loans (NPL) fell to 2.87% in September, their lowest level since September 2008, when they stood at 2.63%.

Compared to August, the decline in September is six basis points, while compared to September 2024, the drop is 56 basis points.

In terms of credit volume, the stock of NPL was €34.697 billion, representing reductions of €682 million and €5.757 billion compared to August and September 2024 respectively.

Meanwhile, the total volume of loans granted was €1.21 trillion, representing an increase of €2.688 billion compared to August and €31.003 billion compared to September 2024.

By type of institution, the ratio of NPL for banks, savings banks, and cooperatives was 2.78% in September, which is six basis points lower than the previous month and 59 basis points lower than in the same period in 2024.

In absolute terms, these types of institutions recorded a €608 million decrease in their NPL portfolio, bringing it to €32.207 billion. Compared to September 2024, this is approximately €5.2 billion lower.

Credit institutions also saw their NPL ratio fall to 5.31%, compared to 5.65% in August, while the year-on-year rate fell by more than one percentage point.

The volume of NPL at these institutions was €2.311 billion at the end of September, which is €72 million less than in August. Compared to the same month last year, the balance of NPL fell by around €550 million.

According to data from the Bank of Spain, provisions for all credit institutions totalled €27.445 billion at the end of September, which is an increase of €72 million compared to August. However, the year-on-year variation showed a reduction of €1.795 billion.

Original Story: Idealista News | Author: Europa Press / Ana P. Larcos
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Greek NPLs dropped further in the first half of 2025

26 November, 2025

Greek banks showed further progress in their effort to reduce nonperforming loans in the first half of 2025, according to the latest data released by the European Central Bank.

However, the percentage of NPLs in Greece remains higher compared to the European average. At the same time, the Greek banks seem to have a fairly strong capital base in the eurozone, while they are lagging behind the competition in lending.

The percentage of bad loans fell to 2.73% in the second quarter of 2025 from 2.90% in the first quarter of the year. Moreover, Greek banks are more efficient than the European average based on return on equity.

The index of Greek banks stood at 13.2% at the end of the second quarter of 2025 compared to 10.11% in European banks.

At the same time, the Greek systemic banks (National, Piraeus, Eurobank and Alpha) which are on the SSM radar of the ECB’s supervisory arm appear to be among the most adequately capitalized in the eurozone as the relative capital adequacy ratio (CET1) increased to 16.09% from 15.88% at the end of the first quarter of 2025.

For European banks the same index stood at 16.12% from 16%. In addition, Greek banks appear to have granted far fewer loans compared to European banks. The loan-to-deposit ratio of Greek banks is only at 62.37% against 102.16% in the eurozone

Original Story: Ekathimerini
Edition: Prime Yield

Pollen Street Capital acquires Hipoges through Finsolutia

18 November, 2025

The transaction combines more than €55 billion in assets under management and a team of 2,000 professionals with a presence in four countries.

Pollen Street Capital has completed the acquisition of Hipoges through Finsolutia, with the aim of creating a joint real estate and credit management services platform operating in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. According to the information provided, the new group will have more than 2,000 professionals and approximately €55 billion in assets under management.

Hipoges, founded in 2008, operates in the four countries where the new platform will be structured and manages more than €50 billion in assets, with a team of over 1,800 employees. Its activity is aimed at financial institutions and international investors, with services related to different types of credit and real estate assets.

Finsolutia, created in 2007, will contribute its technological capabilities and experience in loan and real estate asset management. The company has around 360 professionals and collaborates with various institutional investors in Iberia and other expanding geographies.

According to the companies, the transaction will allow them to integrate resources and expand the geographical coverage of the new group. The same sources indicate that the combination will facilitate the joint use of common analysis systems and operational processes, with the aim of managing different types of operations in the southern European markets.

Statements issued by Hipoges, Pollen Street Capital and Finsolutia emphasise the fit between the two structures and the effect the transaction will have on the size and organisation of the resulting group, although the essential information focuses on the expansion of scale and operational integration resulting from the transaction.

Original Story: Iberian Property | Author: Alexandre Lima
Edition: Prime Yield

Greece’s NPL stock fell by 2.4% in the first half of the year

18 November, 2025

The quality of loan portfolios at Greece’s credit institutions continued to improve during the first half of the year, with the stock of nonperforming loans (NPL) at the country’s banks falling by 2.4% from December 2024.

At the end of June 2025, the NPL stock stood at EUR 5.8 billion on a solo basis, down by 2.4% from December 2024, primarily due to loan recoveries, sales, and write-offs.

The Greek banking NPL ratio was 3.6% at the end of the first half of the year, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than the 3.8% recorded at the end of 2024, as credit growth was accompanied by a decline in NPLs. This is the lowest NPL ratio since Greece joined the euro area and is largely in line with the average for significant institutions in the Banking Union (June 2025: 2.2%).

Additionally, the NPL ratio of less significant institutions dropped to 5.9% in June 2025.

Original Story: NPL Confidential | Author: Phil Karametos
Edition: Prime Yield

CGD reduces NPE exposure by €57 million in the first nine months of 2025

13 November, 2025

Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) has just released its consolidated results for the third quarter, revealing a reduction in exposure to non-performing assets (NPE) of €57 million in that period. These assets include non-performing loans (NPL), properties held for sale, and restructuring funds.

In the first nine months of 2025, CGD maintained its reduction in exposure to non-core assets, which decreased by 13% compared to the same period last year. Properties held for sale recorded a reduction of more than €50 million over the past year, standing at €199 million in September 2025. Restructuring funds totalled €107 million, a decrease of €11 million despite the revaluation of some assets in the quarter. Finally, investment properties are valued at only €9 million,” the statement said.

At the end of September, the Portuguese public bank’s NPL ratio was 1.55%. Although this is still below the national and European averages, it represents a slight increase of 0.07 percentage points compared to 1.48% in September 2024.

Original Story: Caixa Geral de Depósitos
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Cajamar reduces bad debt by 5.5% in last year

12 November, 2025

By the end of September, the Cajamar Group had €769.8 million of defaulted or doubtful loans on its balance sheet, which was 5.5% less than a year earlier. This gave it one of the lowest NPL ratios in Spain at 1.76%.

Between January and September 2025, the Cajamar group posted a net profit of €263 million, representing a 6.9% year-on-year increase, according to the bank’s quarterly results.

The bank’s total revenue (gross margin) in the first nine months of the year was €1.239 billion, which is 3.8% higher than in the same period in 2024.

On 30 September, the bank’s balance sheet assets were worth €63,364.44 million, an increase of 3.6% year-on-year. Of this amount, loans and advances to customers increased by 10.2% year-on-year to €39,698.9 million.

Of the total loan portfolio, almost €770 million corresponded to non-performing loans — a decrease of 5.5% year-on-year — contributing to an improvement in the NPL ratio of 30 basis points to 1.76%.

Original Story: Forbes
Editing and translation: Prime Yield

(Photo: Cajamar)

Banco Montepio reduces NPL by €55 million

7 November, 2025

In the first nine months of 2025, Banco Montepio reduced the volume of non-performing loans on its balance sheet by €55 million. The bank closed the third quarter with an NPE ratio of 2.1%.

The bank has released its third quarter results this week, showing that consolidated net income for the first nine months of 2025 fell by 10.1% year-on-year to €86.4 million, compared to €96.1 million a year earlier.

On 30 September 2025, gross customer loans totalled €12,726 million, showing an increase in performing loans of €564 million (4.7%). Non-performing loans remained in line with the end of last year. Gross customer loans increased by 6.3% (€757 million) compared to the same period last year, supported by an increase in performing loans of €811 million (7%), despite a reduction in non-performing loans of €55 million (17.3%).

Following the year-on-year reduction in non-performing exposures (NPEs) of €55 million (-17.3%), the NPE ratio improved by 0.5 percentage points, falling from 2.6% at the end of September 2024 to 2.1%.

In terms of risk, the bank reported a 32% year-on-year reduction in its exposure to real estate risk, falling by €67 million to a total of €145 million. This represents only 0.7% of the bank’s net assets (compared to 1.1% at the end of September 2024) and 9.2% of own funds (compared to 14.1% on 30 September 2024).

Source: Banco Montepio
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Caixabank has already ‘cleaned up’ €889 million in NPLs by September

6 November, 2025

By the end of September, CaixaBank had cleaned up €889 million of bad debt from its balance sheet, reducing its NPL ratio to 2.3%.

CaixaBank’s net result for the first nine months of 2025 increased by 3.5% year-on-year to reach €4.397 billion. The bank explains in a statement sent to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) that this result is driven by a significant increase in commercial activity in a context of moderate interest rates throughout the first three quarters of the financial year.

The volume of new financing granted by the bank during the review period grew by 20% compared to the previous year, reaching €61.255 billion. This expansion was accompanied by increases in key areas: mortgages grew by 39%, corporate lending advanced by 16%, and consumer credit rose by 12%.

In terms of risk management, the bank reported that the NPL ratio fell to 2.3%, supported by a €889 million reduction in the volume of non-performing loans (NPL) in 2025. Consequently, the coverage ratio for NPL improved to 72%, which is three percentage points higher than at the end of 2024. The cost of risk remained moderate, standing at 0.24% over the last twelve months.

Original Story: Infobae
Edition and translation: Prime Yield

Piraeus Bank completes a €300 million securitisation of NPE

31 October, 2025

Piraeus Bank has completes the securitization and transfer of a portfolio of non-performing exposures consisting of corporate loans, including bond loans and other receivables, with a total gross book value of approximately €300 million. Global law firm Hogan Lovells has advised the transaction, as international counsel.

The portfolio was part of the Solar portfolio, which had been classified as held for sale as of 30 June 2022 and was originally established as part of a joint initiative by the four systemic banks to manage non-performing corporate claims.

The notes issued in the context of the securitisation were acquired by an affiliate of the investment manager, Waterwheel Capital Management, LP. The servicing of the portfolio was assigned to Cepal Hellas AEDADP, a credit servicer licensed by the Bank of Greece.

This transaction forms part of Piraeus Bank’s ongoing strategic plan for the active management of non-performing exposures, further supporting its long-term growth objectives.

Original Story: Legal Desire |Author: PR Hogan Lovells
Edition: Prime Yield

Banks sell €300 million of NPL and REOs

29 October, 2025

Caixa has put a €100 million portfolio of bad debt up for sale. Meanwhile, BBVA has €20 million worth of land up for sale. Banks are continuing to clean up their balance sheets. Rating agencies and supervisors are praising the move.

As the end of the year approaches, banks are continuing their efforts to clean up their balance sheets. According to information gathered by ECO from market sources, several portfolios of bad loans and real estate with a total value of approximately €300 million have been put up for sale in recent weeks.

The sector has carried out a major clean-up of its balance sheets in recent years, an effort that has received widespread recognition from rating agencies and supervisors, as Morningstar DBRS pointed out this week. Nevertheless, banks are still trying to dispose of assets that are considered problematic.

Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) is a case in point, with a portfolio of non-performing loans (NPLs) worth around €100 million up for sale. This is an unsecured portfolio, meaning there are no associated guarantees, so the amount receivable for this set of contracts is likely to be lower. The public bank has not commented on this operation.

Another unsecured NPL portfolio worth €170 million is also on the market, but it has not been possible to ascertain the institution that originated this portfolio.

In addition to bad debt, BBVA has also launched a real estate portfolio. Valued at close to €20 million, the portfolio comprises nearly forty real estate assets, primarily land, situated across the country.

Over the last decade, NPL have fallen by more than 15 points.

Ten years ago, NPL were one of the major problems affecting the national banking sector. In 2015, the sector recorded an NPL ratio of 17.5% of total credit — at the height of the banking crisis in Portugal, following the bankruptcies of BES and Banif, and with Caixa en route to recapitalisation.

A decade later, the problem has been solved. In June, NPL accounted for just 2.3% of the total, with the NPL ratio having fallen by over 15 percentage points during this period.

Original Story: ECO | Author: Alberto Teixeira
Edition and translation: Prime Yield