SBI, PNB on a drive to auction properties

State-owned lenders State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) are on a drive to auction properties to recover dues.

SBI is holding a mega e-auction where it would sell a record 1,107 properties online on September 7. The properties carry a reserve price of Rs 2,500 crore.

The country’s largest lender came out with advertisements on Thursday, saying it would hold mega e-auction of properties. It would auction offices, shops, residences, factories and plots. To attract buyers, it said it would offer home loans to successful bidders.

SBI said bidders can bid through three websites.

A senior SBI official said the bank had made a small beginning last year to auction properties in a systematic manner. The quarterly exercise got a good response and improved recovery performance, which helped boost the bottom line.

Among the properties on the block, housing properties are sold most as their papers are in place, the process is transparent plus it addresses a basic need. The response to industrial units is dependent on uptick in the economy. “So it may take a while before we see better response for commercial establishments,” the SBI executive said.

PNB is also holding an auction to sell a 786-sq m commercial property at MIDC, Andheri area of Mumbai, which has reserve price of Rs 9.6 crore and a residential property of 829 sq ft in Santa Cruz, which has reserve price of Rs 173 crore. The auction is to be held on September 8.

PNB has also publicised the auction widely.

State Bank of India

Punjab National Bank