Link CEO warns on risk of ‘significant’ rise in Irish NPLs
IRELAND is expected to be hit with a “very significant” increase in non-performing loan (NPL) cycles, according to the chief executive of Link Administration, the Australian-listed financial administration firm.
Late last month, Vivek Bhatia, the CEO and managing director of Link Group, made the comments during an earnings call with analysts. He responded to a question regarding the recovery of its BCM business, which services NPLs or bad loans.
“I’m not quite sure I have the crystal ball to gaze into and find which markets will go first because the timing of these will be dependent on government to government,” said Bhatia. “We do expect on a large basis though that there will be a very significant increase in NPL cycles across the UK, Ireland, and Continental Europe.
“And we remain well-positioned with our strong suite of clients to be able to go in different geographies.”
Bhatia said Link’s BCM business remained a strong player in the European outsourced loan servicing market “particularly in Ireland” during the call. He said it serves four out of the top 10 debt buyers across Europe.
The company declined to offer further comment.
In February, the Irish Independent reported Link Group had pulled out of a €200m deal to buy Pepper European Services (PES), which included fellow non-performing loan servicing company Pepper Ireland.
In a statement to the Australia Securities Exchange, Link said completion of the deal was subject to regulatory approvals and commercial conditions. The final date for these to be met under the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) was January 30, 2021.
“As the long stop date has passed without a transaction being completed, Link Group has exercised its right to terminate the SPA and not to proceed with the acquisition,” the company said.
Following the announcement, Pepper said it would defer plans to sell PES.