Details of the 10 Billion Yuan Asset Package Transaction: Financial Investment Assets Account for Over 60%

According to the disclosed details in the announcement, the total book value of the transferred asset package as of the transaction reference date was approximately 19.719 billion yuan, consisting of a principal book balance of about 17.864 billion yuan and accrued interest of about 1.855 billion yuan. Gansu Bank had already set aside impairment provisions of 4.797 billion yuan for these assets, resulting in a net book value of approximately 14.922 billion yuan after deductions. This means the transaction price (15.3 billion yuan) was slightly higher than the net book value, representing a 2.5% transfer premium after accounting for losses.

The assets being sold were in a state of continuous losses. Data shows that these assets recorded unaudited pre-tax and post-tax losses of approximately 669 million yuan and 502 million yuan, respectively, in 2023. The situation worsened in 2024, with unaudited pre-tax and post-tax losses expanding to 903 million yuan and 677 million yuan, respectively, bringing the total pre-tax losses over the two years to 1.572 billion yuan.

The composition of the transferred assets was distinctive: unlike previous debt asset transfers, financial investment assets (non-credit non-performing assets) accounted for 63% of the assets sold by Gansu Bank. These included trust products (7.623 billion yuan), asset management plans (4.098 billion yuan), bonds (1.859 billion yuan), and private equity funds (199 million yuan), totaling 13.779 billion yuan. Traditional credit assets (primarily loans) made up only 37%, distributed across wholesale and retail trade, real estate, manufacturing, and mining, with a total principal of 4.085 billion yuan.

Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher of Zhaolian and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory, told the 21st Century Business Herald, "The banking industry is accelerating the disposal of non-credit non-performing assets. Although these assets differ from traditional credit assets, they similarly drag down banks' asset quality and operational efficiency. From an industry-wide perspective, the scale of non-credit asset disposals has been rising in recent years."

For payment, the two parties adopted an installment model: Gansu Asset Management must pay an initial installment of 8 billion yuan within five working days after the contract takes effect. The remaining 7.3 billion yuan will be paid in three installments over five years—2.19 billion yuan by the end of 2028, 1.825 billion yuan by the end of 2029, and 3.285 billion yuan by the end of 2030.

An industry insider engaged in non-performing asset management told the 21st Century Business Herald that the long-term installment arrangement was due to the massive scale of the 15.3 billion yuan transaction, requiring buffer time. It also reflects Gansu Asset Management's prudent assessment of the difficulty and timeline for recovering the underlying assets.

Gansu Bank stated that although the asset sale involves installment payments, selling the assets at a price slightly above the net book value (after impairment provisions) aligns with the bank's and shareholders' overall interests. Moreover, the payment schedule roughly matches the expected recovery timeline of the sold assets. Considering the bank's historical asset disposal volume and timeframes, it is estimated that completing the sale of all assets will take approximately three to five years.

Dong Ximiao analyzed that the asset sale will help reduce the bank's historical burdens, improve asset quality, lower provisions and impairment losses, and thereby optimize financial metrics and enhance profitability. At the same time, it will reduce the bank's risk-weighted assets and improve its capital adequacy ratio.

"This is not only an effective way to revitalize credit resources and strengthen risk resilience but also allows banks to free up more financial resources to better serve the real economy," Dong added.

Public information shows that Gansu Bank is a provincial-level city commercial bank directly managed by the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and Government, with state-owned capital as its controlling shareholder. Its predecessor was Dunhuang Bank, formed through the merger and restructuring of Pingliang City Commercial Bank and Baiyin City Commercial Bank. In 2011, the bank was renamed and officially launched. In 2018, it was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Currently, Gansu Bank operates 19 first-tier branches and 199 business outlets, with financial services covering 14 prefecture-level cities and their counties in Gansu Province.