We speak to Serafim this month where is expands on how the market is going to grow in 2020 and what challenges his jurisdiction is currently facing.
How is the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) market going to grow in Greece in 2020? What are the opportunities?
The Greek NPL Market is considered to be the most promising in Southern Europe, ahead of Italy and Spain within the next upcoming years. The combined non-performing exposures (NPEs) of the four systemic banks in Greece is estimated to be of €105 billion with the largest NPL ratio in the Euro area at 47%. The Greek systemic banks came to an agreement with the ECB Banking Supervision to reduce this exposure by approximately 50% (an amount equal to €43 billion) initially until 2019 granting in the meantime, an extension until December 2020. However, according to banking sources, the Greek Banks will keep on conducting NPL sale processes after December of 2020 as well. Greek loan portfolios have already attracted investors, as the profit rate has been initially estimated between 10-15% IRR, and the first performance “numbers” reflect this initial prediction. The opportunity in the Greek market lies in the huge leeway of profit and this is the reason why Greece has attracted the most reputative investment funds in the world.
Doing business in Greece requires experienced advisers both economic and legal, due to the particularities of the country’s financial reality and legal system.
Can you detail any specific industry-based challenges you are facing now and may do in the near future?
In the next 5 years, Greece’s distress market will reach its peak as the transfer of an important percentage of the NPL exposures to investment funds has made business in this industry more flexible. Greece has already attracted the world’s biggest investment companies, some of which have already entered the market very dynamically. The reformed Greek distressed market is expected to perform very well in the next years especially in terms of time since investment funds apply more progressive methods and act in a quicker manner. Apart from that, there are still many opportunities in the primary NPL market, while the secondary market is going to be formed very rapidly in the next years.
However, doing business in Greece requires experienced advisers both economic and legal, due to the particularities of the country’s financial reality and legal system. Our firm has been among the first to be involved in such projects undertaking to provide foreign investors with legal advice on the Greek Law to deeply understand its impact on their investment choices and strategies. After the initial involvement, our firm is now in a position to address these legal issues related to this industry more efficiently.
What are the key elements of your firm’s success?
Our firm deals with financially distressed companies, whose issues are extremely complex when it comes to practice. A corporate lawyer needs to have a set of particular skills to face corporate issues. In our firm, the key element to our success is the combination of our legal expertise and in-depth understanding of the economic environment, alongside our experience in the Greek banking sector. These elements make us understand the needs of every client and always promote the best solution in every case.
Apart from that, we have formed a well-trained and trusted team that is always responsive. Our firm encourages every lawyer to take initiative and develop their skills by urging them to take steps forward. The special needs of our clients and the high volume of work demand the existence of such a team and personally, as a managing director, I always try to inspire and convey my experience to the next generation of lawyers.
Contact details:
SERAFIM SOTIRIADIS
FOUNDER
SERAFIM SOTIRIADIS AND ASSOCIATES
4, LYKAVITTOU STR., GR-10671 ATHENS
TEL: +30 2103388812 FAX: +30 210 3388813
Serafim Sotiriadis, Attorney at Law, the founder and inspiration of “Serafim Sotiriadis and Associates”, is widely acknowledged as one of Greece's leading experts in the fields of Bankruptcy and Business Restructuring Law. He is a graduate of Athens Law School and a member of the LAA since 2001. A specialist in major debt restructuring and insolvency, he frequently lectures on corporate reorganization and the restructuring of bank loans, having been personally involved in some of the most significant cases to have taken place in Greece.
“Serafim Sotiriadis & Associates” was the first law firm in Greece to successfully submit and ratify a “rehabilitation agreement”—a document that has served as a reference point for all those that followed. Rehabilitation Mechanisms (106b and 106d of the Greek Bankruptcy Code) are the primary collective pre-insolvency procedures; their aim is to restructure a company’s debts without overlooking the collective satisfaction of its creditors.
