Banks who made the mess...need to restore now
Sunday, March 8, 2009 @ 8:50 AM
Ask your Spanish bank if they have got a good deal for a house in Spain.
As if they were real estate agencies, financial institutions in Spain are showing the poster "House for sale”. Banks and savings banks have increased their real estate assets in 2008- up to 7806 million euros- due to mortgage executions and developers´ loan of difficult recovery.
Now it is needed to put these properties in the market to do business, but the damaged area of construction and real estate does not make it easy. Therefore, banks have decided to create real estate societies that have launched attractive offers to employees and customers.
As one of the majors causers of the current financial unbalance and as excessive earners as they were during the real estate boom, it is time for them to offer a social help in order to bring normality back to the real estate arena and the financial status of the world. Time to reduce those obscene benefits in favour or restoration of financial order. I think this is where most of the needed oxygen needs to come from. But I am not an economist and have no expert knowledge. It is just a common sense thought related to balance and equilibrium.
Banco Santander, has real estate valued 2.634 million euros which were purchased to repay failed loans. The Estate Company of the Bank is named “Altamira Santander Real State” and its aim is to market its residential developments. The entity chaired by Emilio Botin analysed and came to the conclusion that acquiring the financed assets, after the failure of repayments, was the best way to recover the huge debt.
Last January, the 12th, they started to offer those properties to the Bank’s employees, with discounts of up to 25% of the market price. They have recently extended the offer to 300 properties for sale, rent or rent to buy, as the initial campaign was very successful.
Santander says it is planned to gradually extend the offer to workers in other countries like the United Kingdom, Portugal or Germany and, ultimately, the general public through its offices, brochures and Web www.altamiraSantander.com.
Santander should not look to market benefits here but to restoration and social function of Financial Institutions.
Some other banks with Real Estate divisions are:
Banesto: Promodorus wants to locate his real estate portfolio valued at 1.134 million euros. Has launched the website Banesto Vivienda.
Banco Sabadell: Solvia Gestión. 80% of assets are concentrated in Catalonia and Madrid and the remaining 20% is shared by other communities. The group released between employees and family members a first development of 65 houses at a price 25% below the market two years ago.
Banco Popular: Aliseda includes its properties in its website www.bancopopular.es
Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo through its real estate division CAM sell Real Estate Opportunities. Around 475 flats with discounts of 20%. It also offers 100% financing, which is very advantageous in a time when many institutions are hesitant to fund only 80% or less.
Caixa Catalunya was the first to make available to the public 3,000 housing units located throughout Spain. The name of its web is www.procam.net, and contains flats with discounts reaching 30%. They offer special mortgage solutions for the acquisition of a house and also the option of renting. They also have external agents for marketing their houses and its network of 1,200 branches.
Unicaja is currently studying various ways to market its real estate.
Price reductions over 20% are considered necessary by the experts in order to sell these units.
What do you think?
Plaza del Duque´s free market, Seville.