Billion-dollar PR: How ARMA head Duma uses the Gulliver shopping mall for announcements rather than solutions.

The competition to select a manager for the capital's shopping center "Gulliver," announced by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), has sparked a new wave of criticism towards the agency. Despite the bold statements made by ARMA head Elena Duma regarding a "maximally strict" selection process, this initiative may end up being fruitless and could even harm state banks. The reason is straightforward: the shopping center is mortgaged against loans, and "Oschadbank" has already threatened to seize the asset if it is handed over for management, writes UNN.

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On October 30, ARMA announced a competition for the management of one of its most high-profile assets - the "Gulliver" shopping center. Agency head Elena Duma spared no words to emphasize the importance of the competition, highlighting four "maximally strict" criteria. Among them are the participants' asset status of at least 100 million hryvnias, experience in managing similar properties, and verified financial viability.

However, there is one "gap" in this entire process. The tender documentation does not mention the necessity of servicing the shopping center's loans to state banks.

The reaction from "Oschadbank" was severe. The bank stated that if "Gulliver" is handed over to a new manager without obligations to repay the loans, it will initiate seizure of the building in its favor. After all, the losses for "Oschadbank" due to the cessation of loan payments could exceed 20 billion hryvnias.

“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 positions of state banks do not exist. Why should we have to appeal to anyone? Why didn't they take this into account? They should have considered the position of state banks when developing the documentation; why didn't they specify it? Why do we have to chase ARMA and beg for something?” said Arsen Milyutin, Deputy Chairman of the Board of "Oschadbank," responsible for working with NPL.

Thus, this competition is turning more into a PR campaign for ARMA head Elena Duma than a genuine step towards effective asset management.

The "maximally strict selection" sounds impressive in statements, but reality suggests that it is more about media noise than about solving financial problems.

ARMA risks once again becoming an example of ineffective asset management. If ARMA does not change its approach and include a clause in the competition conditions mandating the servicing of loans, it could lead to a significant failure.