ING GROEP : ING Plans to Sell Multibillion-Dollar U.S. Loan Portfolio -- Sources
05/02/2013| 10:55am US/EasternRecommend:
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A unit of ING Groep NV (ING, INGA.AE) is preparing to sell a multibillion-dollar U.S. loan portfolio as the Dutch bank continues to wind down its U.S. property lending business, according to people familiar with the matter.
ING Real Estate Finance's planned sale will consist entirely of performing loans with a face value of about $2.5 billion, these people said. These loans represent the bulk of the value of ING's $4 billion U.S. real-estate loan portfolio.
The bank expects to get face value or higher for the portfolio, pointing to the ongoing rally in commercial debt and recent loan portfolio sales that went well, according to people who have been briefed by ING. Union Bank last month agreed to buy a $3.7 billion portfolio of U.S. commercial loans from PB Capital for around par, and ING executives think the quality of their loans is superior, said a person familiar with ING's thinking.
ING declined to comment directly on the U.S. portfolio sale. But Michael Shields, managing director and head of ING Real Estate Finance Western Europe, UK, USA and Structured Products, said in a statement: "In line with ING's strategic objective to sharpen the focus of its Real Estate Finance business, ING continuously evaluates its commercial real estate loan portfolio."
ING is planning to market the portfolio itself, without use of a broker, say people familiar with the matter.
Some real-estate investors said the lack of large debt portfolios available, and with a lot of potential buyers sitting on cash, they expect that ING would get an attractive price for its loans.
"With more capital than current product, this is an ideal time for ING to offer out a portfolio of seasoned loans," says Edward L. Shugrue, chief executive officer of Talmage, a New York-based real-estate investment firm. "The response should be robust."
ING was one of many European lenders that were active in the U.S. during the previous decade's market rally. Many of them, like ING, looked to exit after the bubble burst.
In 2011, Anglo Irish Bank Corp. sold a U.S. loan portfolio with a face value of $9.5 billion after the Irish government nationalized the bank and pressed it to reduce its overseas loans. Allied Irish Banks PLC (AIBYY, ALBK.DB) and Bank of Ireland also sold large portfolios.
Germany's Eurohypo AG sold a U.S. commercial-property loan portfolio with a face value of $560 million at a discount last year after it reached an agreement with the European Union to cut much of its debt exposure.
ING decided last year to wind down its U.S. property lending business, determining that the U.S. is not a core market and that better opportunities exist elsewhere, such as Europe. The bank still makes real-estate loans in other markets.
Write to Craig Karmin at
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