The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is interested in supporting efforts to solve the issue of non-performing loans (NPLs) in Serbia, and restructure the companies with poor business results in cooperation with private investors, EBRD Director for Serbia Daniel Berg told Tanjug.
The EBRD can be a co-investor to funds that are interested in restructuring the companies with poor business results in Serbia, Berg said.
A good example of this is the recently announced project of American investment fund KKR in Greece where the restructuring efforts are focused on the companies that have underperformed, which delivers greater value to investors – including banks, related companies and the state, he noted.
The level of NPLs in the Serbian banking sector exceeds 20 percent, for both commercial and consumer loans, but the situation with business loans is even worse, as one in four loans is either in default or close to being in default.
Under Serbian laws, banks can sell commercial loan portfolios, which is not the case with consumer loans unless the buyer is a licensed bank in Serbia.
Source; SerbGov
