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TOP-TIER
Banco de Oro (BDO) Universal Bank would rather go into
joint venture with three of the biggest property
developers in the country than deal with special-purpose
vehicles (SPVs) to dispose of its nonperforming assets.
The
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BP) bared the preference on
Monday, noting most banks abhor SPVs and their penchant
for buying soured assets at deep discounts.
Deputy
BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said BDO has partnered
with Sta. Lucia Realty, Filinvest Corp. and Crown Asia
Property who will each provide intimate readings of the
market in exchange for the bank’s P200-million soured
assets.
“Given
the state of the property market at present, the banks
would rather sell their soured assets on their own or in
joint venture with parties than deal with SPVs,”
Espenilla said.
The
banks committed to dispose another P100 billion worth of
nonperforming assets under the extended round of SPV
sales, but actually sold only around one-third of it.
About as
much was committed in the first SPV round three or four
years back, but some P97 billion were sold.
Espenilla shrugged off the banks’ preference for the
individual approach rather than wholesale disposition
via SPVs, noting that the objective of cleaning up the
banks’ books was served nevertheless. “Lots of banks
have made the decision to do it another way. We don’t
care the target is below expectation as long as their
NPLs continue to fall,” he said.
The
banks’ soured assets portfolio did not escape the
attention of a team from Moody’s Investor Service
looking over the country’s fiscal and financial health
and the inevitable question as to what was going on
cropped up, senior officials said.
Moody’s
was told some P40 billion worth of soured bank assets
have been disposed under the SPV mode with some P70
billion more in the pipeline, according to Espenilla.
Some P7
billion more have been disposed via the joint-venture
mode since the BSP released the guidelines in a circular
under SPV One, he added.
Practically nothing was sold via joint venture in the
first round, Espenilla said. |
