AIB sells its Latvian mortgage book

Swedbank, the biggest lender in the Baltics, has bought AIB’s mortgage portfolio in Latvia, growing its business at a time when most European lenders are deleveraging.

Sweden’s well-funded, highly-capitalised banks are seen as well-positioned to benefit from tougher conditions for some of Europe’s ailing lenders.

Swedbank did not state how much it paid for the mortgages of some 800 AIB clients, saying yesterday that it paid a competitive price for a “performing portfolio”.