The DGF sells off the property of Concorde Bank, despite the lack of such a need

The Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) has announced another auction to sell the property of Concord Bank, which is in the process of liquidation, although it was profitable and still has enough money on its accounts to pay all its obligations, UNN reports.

"This week (February 05-09), the sale of assets of 9 banks liquidated by the Deposit Guarantee Fund is scheduled to take place via Prozorro.Sale. The initial sale price of all lots is UAH 712.4 million," the DGF said in a statement.

At the same time, the website of the Prozorro.Sale system indicatesthat the DGF is selling a residential building with outbuildings and structures in Dnipropetrovs'k region, which belongs to Concord Bank. Its initial cost is UAH 135 thousand.

In addition, the DGF is also selling the bank's computer equipment and accessories for almost UAH 308 thousand, and furniture, household appliances and cleaning products for almost UAH 734 thousand.

At the same time, the DGF put up for sale the rights of claim under financial leasing agreements concluded by Concorde with individuals for almost UAH 779 thousand and the rights of claim under a loan agreement concluded with an individual and receivables under the agreement for almost UAH 635 thousand.

It is worth noting that this is not the first auction to sell the property of Concorde Bank. Prior to that, the DGF sold an armored collection vehicle, despite the fact that the bank's shareholders asked to transfer it to the military and deduct its value from the payments due to shareholders.

At the same time, a member of the parliamentary committee, the chairman of the subcommittee on state security and defense, Fedir Venislavskyi , assured UNN that the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence would consider the situation with the armored collection vehicle belonging to Concorde. In particular, according to him, MPs should have considered the possibility of transferring such property directly to the Armed Forces instead of selling it at auction by the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

Despite the fact that armored cars are needed at the front, the DGF decided to sell the collection vehicle. And in response to a request , UNN noted that the video appeal from the military and shareholders was not enough for them, and therefore they acted within the framework of the current legislation.

In its response, the DGF referred to a law that requires the mandatory sale of assets of insolvent banks to raise funds to pay off their depositors.

Back in December last year, the bank's co-founder Olena Sosiedka reportedthat creditors from the 9th line of the register of accepted creditors' claims of Concord Bank had started receiving cash payments. She reminded that on December 11, a decision was made to partially satisfy the claims of 72 creditors in the amount of UAH 57 million.

The DGF reported that 100% of the claims of the 1st-8th stages have been satisfied in the amount of about UAH 1.4 billion. According to the reports, as of the beginning of the liquidation procedure, the bank's liquid assets amounted to about UAH 2.3 billion, meaning that the fund currently manages about UAH 900 million. At the same time, the payment to the 9th priority has been suspended, and the assets are being sold.

At the time of the liquidation process, Concorde was a successful and profitable bank, and it is therefore not surprising that almost all of the bank's depositors and creditors received their funds at once. In addition, the bank's funds currently at the disposal of the DGF are more than enough to pay off the remaining debts. This raises the question of why the DGF is selling off the bank's assets and whether they will be used for their intended purpose

At the same time, lawyers interviewed by UNN argue that owners of liquidating banks who have enough money to pay off their liabilities should be given the right to dispose of their property.

"In my opinion, shareholders, as one of the owners of a bank, should have certain rights in the process of liquidation of their asset. However, these rights should be clearly limited and regulated in accordance with Ukrainian law and European Union standards to ensure that the interests of all creditors are protected and the principles of transparency and fairness are observed," said Dmytro Kasyanenko, attorney at law at Kasyanenko & Partners.

He emphasized that during the liquidation of a bank that is not bankrupt, it is important to preserve the procedure for satisfying creditors' claims, which is set out in the law.

"The shareholders have the right to dispose of the bank's property only after the creditors' claims have been fully satisfied, which is a key principle of bank liquidation," the lawyer added.

Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, believes that if a bank that is being liquidated has enough money on its accounts, the DGF is not obliged to sell its property. On the contrary, such actions would burden the Fund.

"Well, this needs to be sorted out for sure. I can't imagine why the DGF should retain the obligation to sell the property after all the payments on the bank's debt have been made. I mean, why? In my opinion, this is an unnecessary function that burdens the DGF, and the legislation should be read and amended, of course. It would be the right thing to do," Yuzhanina said.

All the experts interviewed by UNN emphasize that the National Bank of Ukraine should not liquidate profitable banks. However, if this happens, the owners should receive their property after all creditors' claims are satisfied, as well as compensation for such an illegal decision.

At the same time, they agree that Ukrainian legislation is not friendly to investors and bank owners, and they are not protected from the arbitrariness of the authorities.

Recall

Despite the war in Ukraine, the process of removing banks from the market has not stopped. Thus, as of February 24, 2022, the liquidation process was initiated against 8 banks. In 2023, for the first time in Ukraine, not only bankrupt banks but also profitable institutions were subject to liquidation and license revocation, including Concord Bank. The process of depriving a banking institution of its license takes place without a court. Of course, the owners and shareholders of banks can appeal the decision of the regulator, the NBU, after it has made the decision to liquidate the bank, but in general, the process of removing a banking institution from the market, once it has been launched, is irreversible. In addition, Ukraine does not regulate the liquidation of a profitable bank. According to Olena Sosedka, co-owner of Concord Bank, when the regulator announced the decision to liquidate the bank, the financial institution had enough highly liquid assets to make all the necessary payments in 2-3 weeks. But the process of bank liquidation is strictly regulated by law and can generally take up to three years.