What’s the buzz in German NPLs?

Sales of non-performing loan and real estate portfolios to foreign investors have stirred controversy in Germany, with the buyers being described by a senior politician as “a plague of locusts”. But the medium-term benefits could go beyond a much-needed injection of liquidity and balance sheet repair and provide a fresh impetus to the German economy.

“A SYSTEM WHERE banks are piling up non-performing loans has a very negative impact on the economy. If you look at NPL problems around the world it always takes the banks to clear their bad debt problems for valuations in the underlying assets to pick up. Banks will not extend credit on more assets in the same asset class. Take real estate: the minute banks sell to people like us, volumes can start to rebuild, and that’s great for the German economy.

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