NAB sells €1.5 bln portfolio of UK commercial real estate loans (UK)

National Australia Bank is to sell an additional €1.5 bln parcel of higher risk loans from its UK Commercial Real Estate portfolio to an affiliate of Cerberus Global Investors (Cerberus). As a result of the sale, a small gain is expected to be recognized in the March 2015 half year accounts and an estimated £127 mln (approx. €160 mln) of capital will be released for the NAB Group when the transaction is settled.
Following the sale, the balance of the portfolio will be reduced to £836 mln (approx. €1 bln), compared to the original balance of £5.6 mln (approx. €7 mln) in October 2012 when the run-off portfolio was first established.
NAB Group Chief Executive Andrew Thorburn said NAB had accelerated the run-off of the NAB UK CRE portfolio, with the great majority of the remaining non-performing loans being sold. “This is an important step forward, effectively bringing closure to one of our legacy positions. The sale of these higher risk loans in the NAB UK CRE portfolio is another important milestone in our strategy of reducing our low returning legacy assets and sharpening our focus on our core Australian and New Zealand franchises,” Mr Thorburn said.
Source: NAB