Npl directive, a step forward but still a long way to go

Among the positive notes of what is looming as a complete liberalization of the purchase of bank non-performing loans, Fabio Coco, Partner ADVANT Nctm, is quick to note “a significant impact also in cross-border operations, since a European passport would be introduced by virtue of which a manager of non-performing loans who obtains authorization in his home country would be able to operate in Italy without necessarily setting up a new intermediary there, and the same scheme would apply to Italian managers operating in other European jurisdictions.”

On the other hand, the introduction of greater protection in favor of the transferred debtors, while necessary, puts the same operators in front of onerous fulfillments “Banks that sell NPLs to third parties will have to provide a lot of information to the potential buyer so that he can carry out a careful due diligence on the portfolio,” Coco recalls in particular, who does not exclude the extension of obligations also to financial intermediaries operating under Article 106 of the Tub.

Also attracting attention is the handling of the transitional regime with the current regulations. “From the examination of the draft text sent to the Chamber,” Coco notes, ”it would seem that the legislature is working to make the transition to the new regime as less traumatic as possible through the provision of special grandfathering clauses that should allow current operators to manage and recover credits acquired before the reform without registering on the register of managers of non-performing loans.

Full article in Il Sole 24 Ore.