IFC/APS Holding/Deutsche Bank €1.2 billion acquisition of Banca Comercială Română €1.2 billion NPL portfolio

Overview:

• Romanian bank Banca Comercială Română (BCR) has sold a non-performing loan (NPL) portfolio to a consortium made up of the IFC, APS Holding and Deutsche Bank.
• BCR's loan portfolio sale is the latest in a series of NPL sales undertaken in Romania as the country's banking sector is restructured.
• BCR itself is undertaking a series of disposals as part of its so called Project Neptune. In September 2015 the bank and its owner the Erste Group pulled out of a sale of NPLs to a consortium made up of Blackstone, HIG Bayside and AnaCap Financial Partners.
• Following this latest sale, BCR has announced that it plans to sell a further €1 billion of NPLs to improve its balance sheet.
• The IFC and APS Holding have entered into the deal as part of a commitment to help banks tackle NPL portfolios across the CEE as part of the IFC's crisis response initiative. As in other parts of Europe, NPLs in Romania need to be dealt with to free up liquidity and encourage lending.

Sam Duke - Editor