The property investment arm of US conglomerate General Electric has bought a portfolio of loans from Credit Suisse for €642 million ($1.01 billion), it said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
GE Real Estate said it had acquired a portfolio of 10 loans on a range of properties in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Britain.
In a statement, it said the loans had “attractive” loan-to-value ratios, without giving details. The purchase adds to GE Real Estate’s growing haul of secondary European real estate debt at a time when property values are under pressure and lending to property investors has grown more scarce due to a global credit crunch.
GE Real Estate snapped up a €1.3 billion loan portfolio from Capmark Europe in April and 2 billion ($3.99 billion) of commercial property loans from British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley in November 2007.