Colpatria Buying Codensa Loan Portfolio

Colombia’s Banco Colpatria Red Multibanca is acquiring a loan portfolio valued at COP500bn ($261.4m) from Endesa’s Colombian subsidiary Codensa. A Codensa spokeswoman says the final deal value will be determined when the portfolio changes hands November 27. She adds that the deal value will be equivalent to that of the portfolio value, which can change by closing date, and adds that BNP Paribas advised Codensa on the deal. As part of the transaction, she says, Colpatria will be in charge of further developing the loan portfolio, known as Programa Credito Facil, while Codensa will continue to be in charge of billing and customer service for 10 years. Credito Facil has about 650,000 clients, most of them in the lower-income segment.