Jamaica
News - Real Estate - Sales
Source: Jamaica Gleaner, Susan Gordon, February 21,
2007
FIS seeking markets for 29 properties - Valued at $840 million
Financial Institutions Services Limited (FIS) is hunting buyers
for 29 properties it has left to sell from among confiscated
assets mainly linked to Blaise and Century National, two of the
more spectacular failures in the financial sector meltdown of the
mid-1990s.
"Finsac has 29 properties
remaining in its portfolio, at a cumulative value of J$841
million," FIS Operations Manager, Errol Campbell, stated.
The properties were part of bailout
company Finsac's collection of bad debts not included in the
portfolio sold to Beal Bank of Texas.
Percentage of collections
The layered agreement between Beal
and Finsac entitled the Jamaican government to a percentage of all
gross collections: 15 per cent of the first US$50 million
collected, 25 per cent of the next US$50 million, and 35 per cent
of the next US$50 million.
The portfolio of bad loans and
assets at the time of sale was valued at US$393 million on the
principal balance alone. The interest was some US$300 million.
Beal's local company Jamaica
Redevelopment Foundation Inc (JRF), run by Janet Farrow, did not
comment up to press time on the status of the sales of assets from
the Finsac portfolio it acquired in 2002 for an initial US$23
million.
But based on revelations by the
FIS, the collector would have already recovered at least US$150
million.
"FINSAC is not aware of the
amount of funds collected from the sale of properties by JRF/Beal
Bank," said Campbell. "However from JRF's total
collections, FINSAC is at present due 35 per cent after deducting
certain allowable expenses," he said.
FIS senior manager Martin Gooden
said that negotiations were ongoing on some of the 29 properties.
"Most of the assets would be
Century and Blaise's," he said. "Because of the
finalisation of the court cases, we have legitimate rights to sell
them."
Invited bids
The FIS at the end of January
invited bids for an agent to auction six properties on its behalf,
warning that the successful candidate would be required to work
closely with the Attorney-General's department on the sales.
It also advertised for sale on
the same day a 6,626 square foot property on Duke Street,
Kingston.
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