FOLLOWING the securing of an extension to its bailout from the EU, Greek banks are considering selling their shipping debt to pay the country's soaring welfare bill as the new socialist government takes on new social obligations Reuters reports.
"There are several portfolios being shopped around at the moment, including shipping loans," one banking source said. "It makes sense for the Greek banks which face a huge liquidity problem to transfer these assets to third parties because they do not have the structures in place to collect bad debt."
The banking and a ship-finance source said such debt could be attractive for private equity players who have been scooping up distressed assets in shipping due to the sector downturn.
"If they can find buyers, certainly one way to raise cash is through distressed deals. If the pricing is attractive enough, this would be private equity and hedge fund territory," the ship finance source said.
A separate ship-finance source said Greek banks were also approaching shipowners directly and offering to sell their performing loans back to them at a discount.
"Even at a slight discount, this will help bolster underlying capital and buy some breathing space for the banks. It's also a good way of getting loans off their books. For shipowners who have cash, it would be a good option too," the source said.
Bank of Piraeus, Eurobank and their rivals National Bank of Greece and Alpha Bank are estimated to have shipping portfolios of at least US$10 billion in total, ship industry sources said.
An Alpha official told Reuters the bank was "not considering selling shipping loans."
WORLD SHIPPING
04 March 2015 - 21:15
Greek banks mull selling shipping debt to pay soaring welfare bill
FOLLOWING the securing of an extension to its bailout from the EU, Greek banks are considering selling their shipping debt to pay the country's soaring welfare bill as the new socialist government takes on new social obligations Reuters reports.
WORLD SHIPPING
04 March 2015 - 21:15
Greek banks mull selling shipping debt to pay soaring welfare bill
This news 4768 hits received.
These news may also interest you