Although Spanish banks continue to hold large portfolios of property on their books, the rate at which they are being removed is increasing. In 2014 listed Spanish banks sold and leased a total of 86,726 properties which marks an 18.7% increase on 2013. The total value of these property transactions was €13,619 million, up 6.4% on 2013.
CaixaBank recorded the most impressive numbers with 23,400 property sales and leases, 35,870 if including those made through developers supported by the bank. The value of these transactions was €2,512 million although this rose to €5,432 if including sales and leases made by third parties.
The bank seems to have benefited from its focus on leasing a large number of its properties. Rentals accounted for €1,132 million, 45% of the €2,512 million in direct turnover made by the bank from property. The results provide further evidence of the strengthening of the Spanish rental market and the possibilities available in the buy-to-let sector.
Other major banks with significant transaction volumes in 2014 were BBVA which shifted 23,069 properties for a total value of €1,932 million and Banco Sabadell (Solvia) with 16,172 properties for €2,774 million. The banks will hope that 2015 will see similar success and allow them to move on even larger amounts of their stock.
