MINIMIZATION OF PROBLEM LOANS IN BANKS: ECONOMIC AND LEGAL ASPECT OF STATE REGULATION
Authors: Kostyuchenko O. , Stefanchuk M. , Korobtsova D. , Soniuk O. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract. The authors of the article have studied the problem of managing non-performing loans within loan portfolios. It has been substantiated that Ukraine as a developing country is in such socio-economic conditions of development that increase credit risks for banks. Numerous studies of the determinants for the formation of loans portfolios in countries with different levels of economic development demonstrate that developing countries are prone to negative consequences that lead to insolvency of debtors in case of a drop in the GDP, inflation, legal uncertainty, political crises, etc. The lack of long-term experience of banks in solving problems of increasing the share of non-performing loans in banks’ portfolios demonstrates that minimization of such assets requires regulation at the level of the banking system, but not a separate bank. Based on statistical data, it has been demonstrated that the minimization of problem loans of banks gained significant positive dynamics only after the National Bank of Ukraine regulated the process of managing distressed assets by adopting a regulatory act. Detailing the process of legal regulation of managing distressed assets allowed banks to structure and organize the work of their divisions in accordance with the normatively defined life cycle of distressed asset in such a way that all measures taken by them affect the efficiency of their work. Using permits, prohibitions and obligations as legal means of regulating relations between banks and their debtors, those relations have become predictable, allowing banks to control the process of managing non-performing loans and make timely decisions on the use of tools to minimize the share of distressed assets of the bank. The wide choice and consistency of applying financial and legal instruments in the process of managing non-performing loans allows banks to maximize the contractual settlement of debt and address to the competent authorities for the application of state coercion to debtors. Direct prohibitions, which are provided in the procedure of writing-off impaired assets, prevent corruption manifestations in this process. However, the authors have argued that the practice of 2008—2019 in terms of managing non-performing loans of banks demonstrated that the effectiveness of this process directly depends on government regulation. If the economic preconditions for the formation of problem loans depend on various factors of objective and subjective nature, then the management of non-performing loans directly depends on the existing legal models in the state for solving this problem. The autonomy of banks and their right to independently determine their strategies for managing distressed assets does not provide the desired efficiency without the imperative intervention of the central bank. Thus, the state regulation of the life cycle of distressed assets has demonstrated its effectiveness, and thus confirmed the need for regulatory influence on the processes of minimizing non-performing loans in Ukrainian banks.
Keywords: non-performing loans, distressed assets, agreement-based regulation, state influence, state coercion, legal regulation.
GEL Classification G18, G21, G34, K12, K42
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