A year of growth for Cherry Bank also in the NPL sector, one of the Institute’s key businesses. The Bank, as at 30 September 2022, acquired impaired assets on the market for a nominal value of 3.7 billion euros. Since October 2021, or since its inception, Cherry Bank has continued to invest in the purchase of NPL credits, finalizing 13 transactions, of which the most significant is represented by a portfolio, originated from the banking sector and acquired in the secondary market for a value nominal amount of € 1.9 billion.
The receivables acquired are mainly unsecured in nature and concern a total of 191,000 debt positions, originating for over 85% of the total value from the banking segment, while approximately 15% refers to consumer credit. The acquisition transactions were carried out for 92% of their total value in the secondary market.
In addition to investments, in the last twelve months Cherry Bank has also paid particular attention to the management of collections: the NPL Management division, which operates throughout the country in collaboration with a network of 18 collection companies, has finalized approximately 9,000 positions and defined payment plans for an additional 1,000 debt positions.
“The merger that gave birth to Cherry Bank has given a strong acceleration to investments in non-performing loans,” says Laura Gasparini, Board Member and Head of Market & Investments of Cherry Bank. “This drive has led to a parallel growth of the workforce, which has doubled its numbers compared to the pre-merger ones and now has almost 50 people employed in the activities of Market & Investments and NPL Management”.
«Distressed credit is a strategic sector for Cherry Bank’s growth plan – explains Giovanni Bossi, CEO of Cherry Bank – which can count on two fundamental drivers: people and technological innovation. The professionalism and skills we have at our disposal allow us to face the arrival of the expected third wave of NPLs, which we expect influenced by new elements compared to the past, namely the recession and higher interest rates. In this scenario, the contribution of technological solutions will be fundamental, which will allow us to operate with greater efficiency and to make precious resources available for the real economy in the shortest possible time ».