LONDON - The nationalized Irish lender Anglo Irish Bank plans to sell $29 billion worth of loans as part of its liquidation, the bank’s special liquidator said on Friday.
The 22 billion euro loan book consists mostly of commercial real estate loans in Ireland and Britain but also includes residential mortgage loans in those countries as well as Irish corporate loans.
“Based on the inquiries received by the special liquidators since their appointment in February, and the diversity and spread of the assets that will be on offer, it is expected that there will be strong interest,†KPMG, which was appointed as the bank’s special liquidator, said in a statement.
Anglo Irish Bank was nationalized in 2009 after a scandal that added to already mounting property loan losses. Ireland decided that a proposed cash injection of more than $1 billion would not be enough to rescue the bank and took it over instead.
The bank’s former chairman, Sean Fitzpatrick, was accused of failing to fully disclose multimillion-euro personal loans from the bank during an eight-year period. Mr. Fitzpatrick has been charged with making false statements and is awaiting trial.
KPMG said it was instructed by Ireland’s finance ministry to sell the assets no later than Dec. 31. No decision has yet been made how to sell the loans or who might qualify to make a bid.
