DUBLIN: Bank of Ireland and the US giants Goldman Sachs and CarVal are buying the loans from Lloyds as it continues to sell down its Irish exposure.
In a stock exchange announcement, Lloyds confirmed the sale of the portfolio for £827m. The portfolio had a par value of £2.6bn.
The deal cuts Lloyds’ exposure to Ireland below £30m.
In a statement, Bank of Ireland said it, together with Ennis Property Finance Limited, an entity affiliated to Goldman Sachs and Feniton Property Finance Limited, an entity affiliated to CarVal, had done the deal.
“As part of the transaction, Bank of Ireland will acquire a portfolio of approximately €200m performing commercial loans, comprising over 650 customers in the SME and CRE sectors.
“Ennis Property Finance Limited and Feniton Property Finance Limited will acquire the balance of the portfolio,” the bank said.
Bank of Ireland director of business banking Mark Cunningham, inset, commented: “This deal demonstrates our ongoing focus on further growing and developing our strong position in serving the business banking sector in Ireland.
“We look forward working with [these new customers] as they seek to develop and grow their own businesses and enterprises,” Mr Cunningham added.