"Agreed to negotiate": Will ARMA be able to protect Oschadbank's interests in the competition for the management of the Gulliver shopping center?

The employees of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), a week before the end of the competition for selecting a manager for the capital's shopping mall "Gulliver," decided to meet with a representative of "Oschadbank" to discuss issues concerning the interests of the state bank. However, it seems they were unable to reach any agreements, reports UNN.

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On October 30, ARMA announced a competition to select a manager for the "Gulliver" shopping mall. The agency's director, Elena Duma, proudly stated that she approached the selection of a manager for this high-profile asset with utmost rigor and even established the maximum of 4 criteria for candidates. Among the conditions that participants must meet are an asset portfolio worth at least 100 million hryvnias, a professional team, documented experience in managing similar properties, and proven financial viability.

The "Gulliver" shopping mall building is collateral for a mortgage loan at state banks, including "Oschadbank." However, among the criteria set by ARMA, there is no mention of the necessity to repay the loan.

"Oschadbank" has repeatedly stated that the decision to transfer "Gulliver" to ARMA harms the interests of the state bank, as it would deprive it of loan payments from the owner of the capital complex. The losses for "Oschadbank" due to the cessation of loan payments could exceed 20 billion hryvnias.

After the announcement of the competition, Arsen Milyutin, the deputy chairman of "Oschadbank" responsible for dealing with NPL, commented to UNN that the state bank plans to claim ownership of the "Gulliver" shopping mall if ARMA hands it over for management. He expressed outrage that instead of making loan payments to state banks, the earnings of "Gulliver" would be handed over to an "unidentified manager."

"We will seek to recover the asset. It's ridiculous; they (ARMA - ed.) have understood the position of state banks from day one, yet they behave as if the position of state banks does not exist. Why should we turn to someone else? Why did they not take this into account? In developing the documentation, they should have considered the position of state banks; why didn't they write that down? Why should we chase ARMA and beg for something? We will be pursuing claims on the asset, that's all," he stated.

After media coverage, ARMA effectively remembered the state bank and its interests in the middle of the competition for selecting a manager and sent a letter to "Oschadbank."

And a week before the competition's conclusion, the agency staff "took the initiative" and held a working meeting with Arsen Milyutin, the deputy chairman of "Oschadbank" responsible for NPL.

According to reports, during the meeting, the parties discussed management issues regarding the seized asset that concern the interests of the state "Oschadbank" in terms of debt repayment.

"As a result of the meeting, a decision was made to continue the cooperation between ARMA and 'Oschadbank' to resolve all contentious issues and protect state interests," the agency announced following the meeting.

From such brief conclusions, it becomes clear that the parties "agreed to agree." It is evident that one meeting is insufficient to resolve contentious issues. However, the question arises - why does ARMA only begin to act under the pressure of the media and public and "initiate" negotiations with the state bank, which could potentially lose billions due to ineffective decisions, just a week before the end of the competition?