The first license granted to a private firm to manage "bad debt" portfolios in the country was reportedly granted on Friday to Aktua Hellas, a joint venture established by Spain-based Aktua and Greek systemic lender Alpha Bank.
Aktua Hellas will, according to reports, manage retail loans extended by Alpha Bank worth 10 billion euros. The firm is expected to be up and running in the first quarter of 2017.
The parent company in Spain was recently bought out by Lindorff Group.
The Bank of Greece (BoG) is expected to issue another two licenses in the next few days; one to a joint company by Alvarez and Marsal, and another to a subsidiary of Athens-based systemic bank Eurobank. A fourth is possibly due within the month to Pillarstone, a corporate entity led by KKR, but with participation by Alpha Bank and Eurobank, and possibly by another Greek lender, Piraeus Bank.
Non-performing loans and exposures (NPLs and NPEs) in crisis-battered Greece exceed the 100-billion-euro mark, with the government and BoG committed to significantly reducing the debt load, as per memorandum-mandated provisions.
