Collectius captures new loan portfolio in Thailand with Kiatnakin Phatra Bank deal
Collectius, the leading restructuring partner for financial institutions in Asia, has acquired US$80 million (2.6 billion baht) worth of non-performing loans (NPL) from Kiatnakin Phatra Bank in Thailand on January 23.
The deal, which includes a combination of hire purchase and SME loans, extends the strong momentum of portfolio acquisition for Collectius since it was licensed by the Bank of Thailand in 2016.
To date, Collectius has purchased a total of US$460 million worth of unsecured NPLs in the country and is preparing to secure more portfolios this year after the BOT eased debt assistance measures to help businesses and individual borrowers get easier access to credit during the pandemic.
"Kiatnakin Phatra Bank is one of Thailand's leading banks providing a range of financial services encompassing commercial banking, capital markets and debt restructuring. Its banking services include personal banking, as well as serving the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises," it explained.
"With the bank upgrading its loan growth target last year, Kiatnakin Phatra Bank expects its NPL ratio to reach 3 per cent by the end of 2021 compared to 3.4 per cent in June last year."
Commenting on the transaction, Gustav A Eriksson, group CEO at Collectius, said the company is pleased to partner Kiatnakin Phatra Bank in strengthening its liquidity position and thereby drive operational efficiency.
Such a move helps credit to continue to flow freely which would aid the local economy on its road to recovery, he added.
"After our acquisition of Magnate last year — one of Thailand's top debt servicing firms — we are confident of maintaining strong growth momentum in Thailand where we have expanded our acquisitions from personal loans to leasing and SME loans in recent times," he said.
As a leading Singapore-based fintech pioneer in unsecured debt purchases, Collectius in 2020 partnered with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to launch a $60-million Distressed Asset Recovery Programme (DARP) dedicated to acquiring and resolving unsecured debt in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
DARP has allowed banks to offload $30 billion in NPLs and is facilitating the normalisation of obligations of more than 18 million households and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Collectius continues to reinforce its position as the preferred partner for sale of consumer NPLs in Southeast Asia, by employing technology and digital-led strategies to build additional servicing capacity.
"In 2021, the company doubled its assets under management to US$5 billion and registered a 53 per cent growth in portfolio volume and revenue respectively," it added.
