By Sarah Sloat
FRANKFURT--Commerzbank AG said Wednesday it sold two real-estate
loan portfolios with a total face value of 2.9 billion euros ($3.2
billion), in transactions expected to improve the German bank's
core capital position.
The bank sold a European portfolio with a face value of EUR2.2
billion to a consortium including JP Morgan and Lone Star Funds.
Investment group Oaktree Capital bought a second portfolio of
mostly non-performing German loans with a face value of roughly
EUR700 million.
The transactions will trigger charges of EUR65 million in the
second quarter and EUR20 million in the third, Commerzbank said,
but will have a positive effect on the bank's core capital
position.
"Both transactions show that we are continuing to press ahead
with our value-preserving run-down, and that we are significantly
reducing both risk and complexity," said Sascha Klaus, the bank's
divisional board member reponsible for so called noncore commercial
real estate assets.
Write to Sarah Sloat at Sarah Sloat@wsj.com
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