Minister of Finance prepares law to decrease non-performing loan
The Portuguese minister of Finance says the Government is preparing laws to help banks sell certain assets, as a part of a comprehensive approach to solve non-performing loan.
Mário Centeno states the Government is preparing a legislative package to help banks sell certain assets in order to handle the non-performing loan problem. The new legislation will allow financial institutions to derive additional value from their restructuring loans.
We are preparing a legislative package that will allow banks to derive additional value from their restructuring loans
Centeno explains it will be “easier for banks to sell assets”, and “the value of those assets will also increase”.
The minister says there is an attempt to remove these loans from bank’s balance sheets. “We are working on a solution under the condition of course that there is no state aid involved”, Centeno says, adding the Government will start discussing this issue with the European Commission in October.
Portugal is still one of the six countries where the non-performing loan ratio surpasses the 10% threshold, according to the Bank of Portugal.
