Deloitte: Commercial real estate loans are expected to lead the next wave of divestments

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

A new Deloitte report – ‘Capital gain, asset loss, European bank deleveraging’ – finds:

• Deleveraging is reversing the single market as European banks sell assets in their home region of western Europe;
• Private equity firms and investment firms are expected to be the main buyers of loan books;
• Commercial real estate loans are expected to lead the next wave of divestments but will also be the trickiest assets to sell.

These are the  three trends that will emerge as a result of deleveraging by European banks.

“Private equity and investment firms are expected to exploit bank divestments. The Deloitte Bank Survey found that commercial real estate and corporate infrastructure loans will top the sales list, even though they are expected to be most difficult to sell. However, asset selection and portfolio shaping will be the key to successfully selling assets,” says David Edmonds, portfolio lead advisory partner at Deloitte. “Deleveraging will change the face of European banking, and our report predicts three trends will emerge. The single market in European banking will continue to reverse. European banks are already reducing cross-border lending and are planning to sell assets in their home region of western Europe.”