Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

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, told Wednesday Business.

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 someof 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.

susan.gordon@gleanerjm.com