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Big Banks ready to sell NPLs staff writer bday.net 13.3.01 TWO major banks plan to sell a total of 125-billion-baht worth of non-performing loans (NPLs) to the government-run Thai Asset Management Corporation (TAMC). Thai Military Bank (TMB) plans to sell NPLs worth 25 billion baht to the TAMC, the bank`s president Somchai Sakulsurarat said yesterday. TMB currently has about 63-billion-baht worth of NPLs, or 21 percent of total lending, Somchai said. About 25-billion-baht worth meet the government`s eligibility criteria for purchase by its TAMC, he said. However, Thai Military Bank will wait several months before reaching a final decision on how much it will actually sell to the government, he added. "Effective bad-loan management by the TAMC will help strengthen the debtors, most of which are manufacturers. If we help return these manufacturers back to normal business levels following debt restructuring, demand for new loans should increase. This will boost bank lending," Somchai said. "We also want to see the qualifications of the debt-management team at the TAMC. A capable team will ensure the best possible gains from bad-loan management," he said. Meanwhile, a source at Bangkok Bank said it has about 100-billionbaht worth of its total NPLs of 250 billion baht set aside for the TAMC. The reason the amount of NPLs at BBL was so high was because the bank had been active in issuing syndicated loans, the source said. Kavee Chukitkasem, an analyst with Capital Normura, said the bank`s NPL sale will allow it to retrieve its loan-loss provision and use it as capital, freeing it from raising fresh capital. The three-week-old government has said it will establish a national asset management company to acquire 250 billion baht-worth of bad loans from private banks and another 1.1 trillion baht of bad loans from Krung Thai and other state-owned banks. "I`m confident that this will comprehensively solve Thailand`s bad loan problem," said Thanong Bidaya, the former finance minister who heads the committee set up to advise the government on its NPL plan. The 250 billion baht that the government will pay to private banks equals the value of the bad loans on their balance sheets, after loan-loss provisions were set aside by the banks for their problem loans. Under the new program, banks are expected to bear the first 20 percent of all losses. The government has agreed to share the following 20 percent of losses with the banks equally. Subsequent losses are to be borne by the TAMC. However, Thai Rak Thai MP Rungruen Pitayasiri said that although the TAMC is now in place, foreign investor confidence in Thai banks will remain shaky, owing to the fact that losses have been accumulating since 1999. "The TAMC may help clean up bad loans, but it can`t bring banks back to profitability" he said. |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Waste or make money in Thailand |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | BodyG (13.03.01 08:50:26) |
| Beitrag: | 506 von 611 (ID:3086530) |
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