Pirelli Re and GE, through GE RE Italy and GE Commercial Finance Services Italy, have been awarded a non-performing mortgage and corporate loan portfolio with a gross book value of around EUR 1bn by Banca Antonveneta and its subsidiary Interbanca, part of the ABN Amro Group.

Pirelli Re and GE, through GE RE Italy and GE Commercial Finance Services Italy, have been awarded a non-performing mortgage and corporate loan portfolio with a gross book value of around EUR 1bn by Banca Antonveneta and its subsidiary Interbanca, part of the ABN Amro Group.

In a press release, Pirelli RE said the portfolio consists of 275 loans secured by residential, hotel and industrial properties. Pirelli indicated that it has a 35% stake in the investment and it intends to involve its joint-venture partner Calyon in the non-performing loan sector.

Pirelli RE and GE also signed an exclusive agreement to acquire additional non-performing loans from Banca Antonveneta earlier this month. The investment has a gross book value of around EUR 5.1 bn. With the latest deal, the gross book value of non-performing loans by Pirelli RE comes to about EUR 7.9 bn.

'As more Italian financial institutions look to dispose of their non-performing assets, we look forward to completing further transactions such as this,' commented GE Real Estate Italy managing director Marcelo Horcel. 'For both the real estate and the commercial lending divisions of GE, non-performing loans represent a major pillar of growth in the Italian market,' added Horcel.