PTSB appoints adviser to sell loans worth €2.6 billion

Permanent TSB has appointed Morgan Stanley to sell its commercial real estate and Irish subprime mortgage portfolios, according to Bloomberg.

Last month, the state-owned bank said it would sell its € 2.1 billion Irish commercial real estate (CRE) book and its € 465 million Springboard Mortgages subprime portfolio either this year or in early 2015.

Just 31 per cent of the CRE book is performing and the bank has taken a provision of € 900 million on these loans. Certus, a loan-outsourcing specialist, manages this book.

Springboard compromises 2,200 mortgages which are generally performing poorly. Permanent TSB effectively shut this business down in terms of new lending some years ago and it has been hoping to sell it.