⁍ Sweden’s Intrum established a significant presence in Italy in 2018 with a 3.6 billion euro deal with bank Intesa Sanpaolo.

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⁍ The pandemic is expected to drive a new surge in problem loans after Italian banks worked hard in recent years to tackle the legacy of the previous slump.

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– Intrum, Europe’s biggest manager of bad loans, still plans to grow through acquisitions in Italy, but first needs to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the head of its Italian business tells Reuters. Talks to buy Milan-based Cerved’s debt collection unit to expand in Europe’s biggest market for soured bank loans fell through because of the coronavirus pandemic. “The transaction was halted and we’re sitting tight, we need to understand what happens first,” Marc Knothe says. Intrum established a significant presence in Italy in 2018 with a 3.6 billion euro deal with bank Intesa Sanpaolo to set up a joint venture, of which it owns 51%. “We want to become the No.1 in Italy so we’re open to a strategic transaction,” Knothe says. Knothe says Italy’s loan collection industry was expected to consolidate further in 12-24 months as private equity funds looked for an exit.