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