Wall Street heavyweights weigh bids for Anglo Irish U.S. portfolio

In a sign of Wall Street’s recovering interest in commercial property, banks such as Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are weighing bids for parts of Anglo Irish Bank’s $9.5 billion U.S. real-estate portfolio, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The portfolio, the largest since the start of the recession, offers a relatively low risk opportunity to jump back into commercial property, the Journal said, as the majority of debt is concentrated in large cities such as New York, California and Chicago. There are around 250 properties in total.

“It’s the first foreign bank to sell its entire U.S. loan portfolio, and it will be a good test of the market,” said Robert Ivanhoe, head of the global real estate practice for the law firm Greenberg Traurig.

Other banking institutions such as Bank of America and Citigroup are seeking to finance bids for the portfolio or parts of the portfolio by private equity firms such as the Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group.

Others foreign banks may follow Anglo Irish’s lead if the sale goes well. Royal Bank of Scotland is looking to offload more than $6 billion in U.S. loans, the Journal said.

Bids are due in the second week of August. Eastdil Secured and FTI Consulting are advising on the sale. [WSJ]