Greek banking company Alpha Bank has received two binding offers from international investors for its non-performing loan (NPL) securitisation portfolio Galaxy.
According to the Greek lender, the Galaxy transaction has a book value of €10.8bn. It consists three NPL securitisations with codenames Orion, Galaxy II, and Galaxy IV.
Alpha Bank stated that with its financial and legal advisors, it is “currently assessing the Binding Offers and, pursuant to all applicable laws and its policies, will inform its investors promptly on its decisions on the Galaxy Transaction.”
Alpha Bank applied for HAPS scheme for three NPL securitisations
Last month, the Greek bank applied for the Hercules Asset Protection Scheme (HAPS) for the Galaxy IV Securitisation. Galaxy IV has a gross book value of €3.2bn.
The application for HAPS relates to a guarantee provided by the Greek state for the senior notes of securitisation with a total value of up to €650m.
In August 2020, Alpha Bank submitted an application under the HAPS scheme for the Orion and Galaxy II securitisations. Orion and Galaxy II have gross book value of €1.9bn and €5.7bn, respectively.
The application for the two securitisations pertains to the provision of a guarantee by the Greek government on the senior notes of an amount up to €3.04bn.
HAPS is a market conform asset protection scheme for banks in Greece, which was approved by the country’s Parliament in December 2019.
According to the European Commission, the HAPS scheme is aimed at helping banks in securitising and moving non-performing loans from their balance sheets. The scheme allows an individually managed, private securitisation vehicle to acquire non-performing loans from the bank and sell notes to investors.
For providing a public guarantee for the senior, less risky notes of the securitisation vehicle, the Greece government will get a remuneration at market terms.
