First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), which is forecasting its first annual loss this year, will close bidding today on NT$57 billion (US$1.7 billion) of bad loans.
The auction will be the last for the year by the Taiwanese lender, which plans to write off at least NT$62 billion of bad loans in 2002. Bidding will close at 11am today, Executive Vice President Chang Yi-hsiung (張義雄) said.
The bank held its first sale in March, when it sold NT$13.2 billion worth of bad loans at face value to Cerberus Asia Capital Management LLC.
Lehman Brothers Commercial Corp Asia Ltd. bought US$131 million of overseas bad loans in the bank's second and most recent sale in April. Merrill Lynch & Co said earlier this month it plans to bid in First Commercial's next auction.
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