“2018 is the year of decisive change in the NPL sector,” declared Riccardo Serrini, General Manager of the Prelios Group, in an informal moment during the RE Italy Winter Forum.
“Until now a great deal has been said and a lot of deals announced, but now many banks are getting in line and are ready. In terms of GACS (State-backed, securitised non-performing loans), Prelios has structured three of the four transactions that took place in the past two years,” said the General Manager. “GACS, or public securitization, is truly a ‘free lunch’ because most of the price is guaranteed by the State in the senior, investment grade part. Recently, the banking world has begun to understand and most banks are going in this direction.” In terms of regulations, Serrini affirmed, “I expect changes: the ECB is very focused on the Italian banking system, it wants it to reduce the NP ratio, which today is at around 13-14% and could go below 10%. The UTP (unlikely to pay) sector is probably the best prospect, because it is an area where companies are still going concerns. For UTPs you work to get the companies back to paying, and in this the real estate sector is at the forefront.”