Auctions of Bank Properties to Continue

During the latest auction held last week as part of the overall plan of shedding excess assets of Iranian banks mostly held in the real-estate sector, 20 properties belonging to Bank Sepah were sold, the head of the Company for Selling Banks’ Excess Assets aka Fam said.

“These properties were sold at an approximate value of 200 billion rials ($5 million) in the 12th round of selling off the excess assets of banks,” Hassan Yamani also told IBENA.

As the official outlines, 12 auctions have been held to sell the assets since the current fiscal year started on March 21, while eight more will be organized before the end of the year.

According to Yamani, during the next auction, which will be held in the next two weeks, the excess assets of Bank Refah Kargaran, including 250 properties, will be sold.

“After the auction for Bank Refah is held, another one will focus on Bank Melli Iran,” he said, noting that Fam is planning to increase the number of auctions.

Preliminary agreements have been made for Bank Maskan, the agent bank of the housing sector, and Bank Sepah to sell more of their excess assets and their auctions will be held in the foreseeable future.

Banks’ failed investments in the real-estate bubble caused many problems in recent years and so they have been ordered to halt their non-banking activities and get rid of excess assets to raise capital.

As Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian said over a week ago, banks have by law about eight months–by the end of the third month of the next fiscal year in June–to put an end to their non-bank activities.  The Company for Selling Banks’ Excess Assets was founded in 2008, following the approval of Central Bank of Iran and the Ministry of Economic and Finance Affairs.

Fam’s shares are held by 10 banks. It only auctions the excess properties of banks and does not process the sale of other businesses.