Hipoges, as a leader in the NPL market, was present at the most recent NPL Iberian Forum that took place in Lisbon, an event hosted by the CMS Group at the Centro Cultural de Belém. The event took place on May 30 and had Hipoges as a Gold sponsor.
The NPL Iberian Forum focused on the NPL Portuguese market, bridging the gap with the Iberian, through the main operations that took place, what is expected of the market, investment opportunities, regulation and technological advancement.
Representing Hipoges, our General Manager & Partner, Hugo Velez, was a panellist along with other major market representatives. After the friendly introduction of Ignacio Vilarroig, the Managing Director of CMS Group in Europe, and an interesting panel on the NPL market Portuguese in the challenging economic context that we currently live in and very focused on the real estate market, Hugo Velez entered the scene.
The panel, made up of major figures from important Hipoges competitors in the sector in Portugal, was formed by: Bruno Carneiro, CEO of Servdebt, Manuel Raposo, Managing Director of Finsolutia, and Marco Freire, CEO of Whitestar. The panel, moderated by PLMJ Partner André Figueiredo, covered the topic of Servicers’ views on the NPL Portuguese market, what major operations are currently taking place, and what is expected of the market.
The market in Portugal highlighted at the NPL Iberian Forum
In the introduction of the panel, it was mentioned that the Portuguese market is extremely competitive. Portuguese portfolios have performed well and although there is a slowdown in the real estate market, it is safe. With a very dynamic and busier first half of 2023, there is hope that bigger deals and different types of investors will emerge, an opinion with which all the CEOs present on the panel agreed.
Investors are happy with the behaviour of the Portuguese market, although this is an extremely competitive market because it is smaller and has, at the moment, a lack of residential product. In addition, banks are currently in a favourable position due to the aggressive cost of capital.
The debate continued and went with the topics of single names and UTPs and the market in Italy and Spain. It then went on to reflect on how the low NPL product level affects strategy and how Servicers can improve their service offering.
Marco Freire spoke of diversification through continuously growing sectors such as real estate, asset management, fund management, single names and UTPs, hospitality and tourism, and sports and leisure. Bet on sectors where it is possible to see more growth and fewer challenges when compared to Servicing.
For his part, Manuel Raposo is of the opinion that the key lies in technology and end-to-end services. Hugo Velez, our General Manager & Partner, believes in the continuous work side-by-side with banks, in the geographical expansion to territories where growth is vast at the level of markets, clients and investors, and that diversification should be vertical, as in the case of real estate, through brokerage, expertise and specificity. In Property Facility, says Hugo Velez, you can also find opportunities of interest, with more control and greater efficiency, as well as alternative financing and in technology and automation.
As for the maturity of the market, it was discussed that the market is already a mature market, with extremely experienced players, making it difficult for new entries. Clients are now more demanding, making the market consequently more competitive, with technology and automation playing a prominent role in the future. However, according to Hugo Velez, the consolidation of the NPL market in Portugal is not finished, as it has 5/6 servicers, and the market is expected to still have many developments to show for.
The NPL Iberian Forum 2023 in the Portuguese capital
The event had, as mentioned above, figures of extreme importance for the NPL sector Portuguese. In addition to the most important players and their representatives, Hipoges was present also through António Nogueira Leite, Senior Board Member, Armando Castanheira, COO of Portugal, Paula Santos, Director of Retail Loans, Rute Ventura, Director of Corporate & Bank Servicing, Luís Silveira, Director of Real Estate in Portugal, Vicente Ricciardi Leitão, Associate Director of Capital Markets, and António Pinto de Abreu, Associate Director of Real Estate Portfolio Management.
More than 170 spectators and 25 speakers were present, and it was possible to count on 12 sponsors, among them LX Partners and Algebra Capital as Platinum Sponsors, and Servdebt, Zolva Portugal, Hipoges, EOS Group, QUALCO, Whitestar, Finsolutia, C&R Software, Intrum and REACTIV as Gold Sponsors.
Paola Ortega Andrade, Conference Director Asset Management at CMS Group, shared some words of feedback with Hipoges about the NPL Iberian Forum 2023 in Lisbon:
“The complex economic context in which we live, marked by the war in Ukraine and high-interest rates, has defined the scenario of the NPL industry in Europe, and Portugal is no exception. The 12th NPL Iberian Forum was a great opportunity to share the vision of banks, investors, servicers, collection companies and other specialized suppliers. It allowed the audience to build an insightful perspective on the opportunities the Portuguese market has to offer, making the event a great success.”