KEDIPES’ serviced loans portfolio is sought after by Cypriot banks whose revenues are on the decline and good clientele is their means to channel increased liquidity, Phileleftheros reports.
Small and big lenders have made moves to take over this portfolio from the state-owned Asset Management Company which was established following the collapse of the Co-operative Bank of Cyprus, it added.
The goal is to first channel liquidity into the purchase of a loan package and secondly to boost their income base. KEDIPES serviced loans amounted to €544m at the end of Q3 2019 from €531m at the end of the previous quarter (+2.5%) and from €487m since the start of operations (+11.7%).
Low interest rates have shrunk net interest margins of banks, while the recorded high private debt limits the potential number of borrowers, leaving banks with significant excess liquidity.
As KEDIPES head Lambros Papadopoulos has said in an interview with Phileleftheros “there is interest for the purchase of this portfolio. There were some initial talks for part of it but nothing official.
“I have to make clear that we do not feel pressure to sell it imminently, but if we get an economically advantageous proposal it is something to be considered. The legally-provided process before any sale takes place will be applied, of course.
“The portfolio was worth €544 million by the first nine months of 2019, up by 12% from the start of operations”.
Informed sources told Phileleftheros that the portfolio had generated revenue of €13.3m in one quarter.
Meanwhile, the House Audit Committee on Thursday discussed the difference between claimed amounts by Hellenic Bank to KEDIPES. Because of the government guarantee on loans transferred from the Co-op bank to Hellenic.
The Committee heard that the first Hellenic Bank claim to KEDIPES amounted to €65.8 million and the second is only €7 million and therefore the mediation term has been activated.
Because KEDIPES disagrees with the doubling of the original estimate and the fact that a large number of serviced loans now appearing on the non-performing loans list.
Referring to Hellenic Bank’s profit out of the deal, Chief Executive Officer Yiannis Matsis said the net worth of Co-op assets that were acquired, excluding liabilities, stands at €247 million.
Matsis also said that the total claims calculated by Hellenic under the protection plan amounted to €110 million from the €160 million estimated by KEDIPES.
Read more:
https://in-cyprus.com/new-kedipes-ceo-to-be-announced-soon/
