PBCom sells P12.156B of non-performing loans

Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) has disposed of P12.156 billion worth of non-performing loans (NPLs) it had placed at the auction block.

Unimark Investments Corp., a registered special purpose vehicle (SPV), acquired the bad loans for an undisclosed amount. The SPV is headed by Robin Sy, the president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Bank officials who asked not to be named said that full payment of the acquisition should be fulfilled within 90 days of closing of agreement. The number of days required actually represent the estimated time needed for the completion of documentary requirements.

"A down payment was made last Monday, but we are also not at liberty to reveal the number," the officials added.

Prior to the negotiated sale, the NPLs were auctioned at a public bidding with three bid offers. Unfortunately, all three failed "to conform or did not have a reserve price."

Aside from PBCom, other banks that succeeded in disposing of bad assets via the SPV route were the Banking of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the Rizal Commercial Bank Corp. (RCBC), and the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

A large number of commercial banks have registered their SPVs with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to take advantage of incentives offered under the SPV Law of 2002.

In fact, several foreign asset management companies (AMCs) have also registered their own SPV companies for the same purpose, proof of what seems to be a profitable business venture.