Banco BPM Surges After Agreement With Credit Agricole, Update on Bad Loans Sale -- Update
December 03 2018 - 7:33AM
Dow Jones News
Adds shares price, analysts comments, deal details
By Pietro Lombardi
Shares in Italy's Banco BPM SpA (BAMI.MI) trade sharply higher
Monday after the bank said it has reached a consumer-credit
agreement with France's Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) and is pushing
ahead with the sale of a multi-billion euro bad-loan portfolio.
The deal with the French bank will boost Banco BPM's capital
ratio and help offset the impact of the bad-loan sale, it said late
Friday.
Banco BPM will sell its consumer-loans business ProFamily SpA to
Agos Ducato SpA, a joint venture between Banco BPM and Credit
Agricole, for 310 million euros ($350.8 million) as part of an
agreement between the two banks to extend their partnership in
consumer finance for 15 years.
Shares in the Italian bank trade 5.2% higher at 1200 GMT.
"Overall, we view these announcements as positive, broadly
aligned with our view about [Banco BPM] looking on track to
accelerate its de-risking process without further compromising its
solvency and preserving Agos' (sizeable) earnings stream," UBS
analysts said.
Banco BPM and Credit Agricole will also consider an IPO of Agos
in the next two years, the companies said. "Such transaction
provides additional flexibility to both shareholders while
preserving their respective strong commitment for the future
development of the company," the Italian bank said.
Banco BPM will keep its 39% stake in Agos for now, with the
French bank owning the remaining 61%. However, should the IPO take
place, Banco BPM would have the option to cut its stake in Agos
while maintaining a minimum stake of 10%.
The French bank has also granted Banco BPM an option to sell a
10% stake in Agos in June 2021 for EUR150 million. The Italian bank
said it is unlikely to exercise the option "given the wide gap
between...EUR150 million and the intrinsic value of Agos."
"In our view, pricing and structure of the consumer-credit
reorganization are optimal," Deutsche Bank said.
The bank said the consumer-credit deal should have a positive
impact on its pro-forma fully loaded CET1 ratio of roughly 80 basis
points. This is larger than anticipated, according to UBS, while
"earnings power is preserved" as Banco BPM's "stake in Agos remains
unchanged."
Banco BPM said it is continuing negotiations with three groups
over the sale of up to EUR7.8 billion of bad loans.
This is "well above the targeted amount of EUR3.5 billion
previously envisaged in the plan and with a capital impact in any
case lower than the benefit coming from the reorganization in
consumer credit," it said.
Write to Pietro Lombardi at pietro.lombardi@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 03, 2018 07:18 ET (12:18 GMT)
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