Thailand

Collectius captures new loan portfolio in Thailand with Kiatnakin Phatra Bank deal

Collectius acquires USD80 million worth of unsecured non-performing loans from Kiatnakin Phatra Bank.

Collectius, a restructuring partner for financial institutions in Asia, acquired USD80 million (THB2.6 billion) worth of non-performing loans (NPL) from Kiatnakin Phatra Bank in Thailand. 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 (BoT) in 2016.

To date, Collectius has purchased a total of USD460 million worth of unsecured NPLs in the country and is preparing to secure more portfolios this year after 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 includes personal banking, as well as serving the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. With the bank upgrading its loan growth target last year, Kiatnakin Phatra Bank expects its NPL ratio to reach 3% by the end of 2021 compared to 3.4% in June last year.

 

Commenting on the transaction, Gustav A. Eriksson, Group CEO at Collectius said: “We are 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. 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.”

 

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 USD60 million Distressed Asset Recovery Program (DARP) dedicated to acquiring and resolving unsecured debt in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. DARP has allowed banks to offload USD30 billion in NPLs and is facilitating the normalisation of obligations of more than 18 million households and SMEs.

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 (AUM) to US$5 billion and registered a 53% growth in portfolio volume and revenue respectively.