Santander Sells Hotel Loans to Take Advantage of Tourism Rebound

(Bloomberg) -- Banco Santander SA is selling part of its Spanish commercial real estate assets as it seizes on a post-pandemic resurgence in tourism to clean up its balance sheet.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• YouTuber Dr Disrespect Was Allegedly Kicked Off Twitch for Messaging Minor

• Nvidia Rout Takes Breather as Traders Scour Charts for Support

• Trump Could Actually Lose Florida. Here’s Why.

• BuzzFeed Struggles to Sell Owner of Hit YouTube Show ‘Hot Ones’

• Paul Singer Is Pitching Wall Street's Own Brand of MAGA

Spain’s biggest bank this month sold around €300 million ($321 million) in hotel loans to credit investor Polus Capital Management, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The loans had previously been refinanced or were unlikely to pay.

The lender is also considering disposing of a portfolio of commercial real estate assets that includes office buildings and hotels, the people said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are private. This deal is expected to be of a similar size.

Representatives from Banco Santander and Polus declined to comment.

Santander is trying to take advantage of a rebound tourism after the pandemic to dispose of the debt. Spain is expected to receive a record number of tourists for the second consecutive year in 2024, supporting prices for commercial real estate assets even as the sector is hit hard by a jump in interest rates and the shift to work from home.

Santander has a non-performing loan ratio of 3.1%, a number that has been broadly stable during the last quarters.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• How Jeff Yass Became One of the Most Influential Billionaires in the 2024 Election

• Why BYD’s Wang Chuanfu Could Be China’s Version of Henry Ford

• Corporate Women’s Gains Fall Victim to Anti-Woke Backlash

• Independence Without Accountability: The Fed’s Great Inflation Fail

• How to Do Succession the Right Way

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.