Bad banks: the urban implications of asset management companies

Asset management companies (AMCs), such as Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency and Spain’s Socieded de Gestión de Activos Procedentes de la Reestructuración Bancaria (Management Company for Assets Arising from Bank Reorganisation, SAREB), are important policy responses to financial crises involving the acquisition and management of toxic debt. Given their massive real estate portfolios, AMCs have decisive urban impacts. And yet, there is almost no literature on their urban dimension. This article responds to this gap by providing an overview of AMCs as a response to financial and real estate crises and by analysing their urban dimensions. While AMCs are designed to save banks, they impact on cities because of the increasing integration of finance and real estate. Moreover, AMCs deepen the integration of real estate and global capital. Finally, because they are a form of state intervention, AMCs may serve to politicize the tension between the use value of real estate and its exchange value.