On Wednesday, November 27, Greece’s second-largest lender said that the National Bank of Greece (NBG) has signed deals to sell a 262 million-euro ($288.78 million) portfolio of shipping loans to investment funds as part of its effort to reduce its load of soured credit, Reuters reported.
In fact, according to a statement of the bank, the portfolio was signed with Cross Ocean Partners, as part of their strategy to reduce non-performing exposures. It is further said that the bank said it sold the loans for about 50% of their outstanding balance as of end June 2019 and the transaction will have a marginal impact on its Core Tier 1 capital ratio.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Additionally, the management of the portfolio is expected to be delivered to Cross Ocean Partners by the management company QQuant Master Servicer, which is licensed by the Bank of Greece under Law 4354/2015.
Lastly, Nat West Markets acted as financial advisor to the bank while Watson Farley & Williams Law Firm acted as an legal advisor.
In July, Greek Piraeus Bank announced it is exploring a potential strategic partnership opportunity with a major Asian Pacific financial conglomerate operating globally, to provide financing solutions to Greek shipping companies.
What is more, according to Petrofin Bank Research in June, Credit Suisse has remained stable in its top position in Greek ship finance of a fifth year in a row. Credit Suisse has a $7 billion book among Greek owners, larger than second place DVB on $3.1bn and BNP Paribas in third place with a $2.92bn outlay.