Sale of bad debt triples in Portugal, but remains at pre-pandemic levels – Banking & Finance
The sale of bad debts will triple in Portugal this year, after a brake imposed by the pandemic. Yet how transactions remain at pre-pandemic levels. The conclusion is contained in a study by Prime Yield, released this Thursday.
“After the severe brake imposed by the pandemic in 2020, a transaction of bad debt portfolios (in the English acronym, Non-Performing Loans, NPL) accelerates in Portugal, with estimated completion of operations worth 3,500 million euros in 2021, considering the business already concluded and the active processes and expected completion by the end of the year, “concludes the study “Investing in NPL in the Iberian Peninsula”.
This figure compared with the €1 billion that were transacted at the end of 2020, still being 56% below the €8 million recorded in 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic. For 2022, expectations are optimistic, “anticipating a sharp growth in transactions as the market continues to accelerate its reactivation over the next few months and new portfolios appear on offer”, he said, noting that it is not yet possible to estimate what will be the impact of the end of the moratoriums on the bank’s bad debt.
“We have no doubts that the transactional activity of bad debt portfolios will increase in a sustained manner in 2022 both in Portugal and in Spain, confirming that this is a sector that continues to attract investors”, says Nelson Rêgo, CEO of Prime Yield, quoted in communicated.