Banks selling mortgaged assets to recover bad debts

The entrance gate to Hà Nội’s Ciputra Urban Area, where banks are selling apartments and villas. Bad debts may continue to increase in 2025 after a circular allowing banks to reschedule the debt repayment period and maintain the debt group for certain sectors expired at the end of 2024. Photo cafef.vn

Many banks are rushing to sell mortgaged assets to recover bad debts, as these types of debts are forecast to increase slightly this year.

VietinBank has recently announced a plan to auction off assets to recover debts from Bio-Zem Joint Stock Company. The auctioned asset is a 145sq.m apartment in Hà Nội’s Ciputra Urban Area. VietinBank offers a starting price of VNĐ8.8 billion for this asset.

Agribank has also announced the auction of two luxury villas in the Ciputra Urban Area owned by another inpidual. The first property, which is a 400sq.m villa, is mortgaged for loans to Thành An Trading Company Limited and Dung Phát Trading and Construction Company Limited. The starting price for the asset is VNĐ166.5 billion, a decrease of more than VNĐ38 billion compared to the previous offering in August 2024.

The second property is a 230sq.m villa and is secured for a loan from Minh Ngoc International Import-Export Investment Trading Company Limited. The starting price of this property is VNĐ75.3 billion, a decrease of more than VNĐ17 billion compared to the offering in August 2024.

BIDV has recently announced the auction of all debts of Phú Sơn Cement Joint Stock Company. One of the assets securing the loan is VIP Hanoi International Primary School.

Phú Sơn Cement Joint Stock Company's debt at BIDV as of November 15, 2024 is more than EUR19.7 million (US$20.5 million), of which the principal balance is EUR7 million and interest debt is more than EUR12.7 million.The value of the debt after conversion at November exchange rates is more than VNĐ529 billion, and BIDV wants to sell the debt at a starting price equal to the value of the debt.

Banks are also selling cars to recover debts. GPBank has announced the auction of a used Audi car at a starting price of more than VNĐ1.3 billion.

BIDV has also chosen an organisation to auction assets including 14 KIA trucks. All of these vehicles were registered in 2019 in Hà Nội for a starting price of more than VNĐ1 billion.

In a recent report on the banking industry, Việt Dragon Securities Company (VDSC) said that bad debts might continue to increase slightly this year, after a circular allowing banks to reschedule debt repayment periods and maintain the debt group for certain sectors expired at the end of 2024.

Specifically, the outstanding debts that were restructured under Circular 02/2023/TT-NHNN as of the end of August 2024 stood at about VNĐ126 trillion. Part of this outstanding debt may become bad debt this year.

However, VDSC analysts believe that the rise in bad debt after Circular 02 expires will not greatly affect the ability to control bad debts on the banks’ balance sheet, because many banks have taken relatively sufficient measures to stabilise it. In the list of 10 banks that VDSC monitors, the restructured debt balance has gradually decreased and stabilised at around VNĐ40 trillion in the past year.

VDSC estimates the provisioning ratio and restructured debt balance to be above 50 per cent. The expiration of Circular 02 is expected to affect bad debts at a few private banks in 2025.