Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has acquired a US commercial property loan portfolio from a Deutsche Bank unit worth $3.7 billion, as cashed-up Japanese lenders swoop in on assets sold by retreating European banks.
The deal, which comes as MUFG is pushing aggressively to ramp up its US presence, will make the Japanese bank the ninth biggest commercial real estate lender in the United States, up from 17th, while diversifying its property portfolio and allowing it to deploy excess capital.
It also comes as a number of European banks offload loan portfolios and exit non-core operations, helping them to raise capital to meet tough new regulatory norms under Basel III requirements. The all-cash acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of this year and does not require any regulatory approval, MUFG said in a presentation. It did not disclose the amount to be paid in the transaction. The bank also noted that US commercial property prices have recently recovered from 2009 lows.