.
National Australia Bank Limited (ASX:NAB) has agreed to sell a $1.1 billion portfolio of non-performing loans from its UK Commercial Real Estate portfolio.
The loans included in the sale are either in default, passed maturity or near maturity and will be offloaded to private equity firm Cerberus Global Investors.
NAB says the transaction is a substantial de-risking of the portfolio and will result in a small gain above net book value.
The bank expects the deal will release an expected $229 million of capital for the company when the transaction is settled.
Incoming chief Andrew Thorburn says NAB continues to look at opportunities to optimise return on equity by accelerating the sale of non-core assets.
National Australia Bank reported a net profit of $2.85 billion in six months to the end of March 2014.
(20min delay)