Court Awards UOB in Inflated Housing Loans Case
A High Court in Singapore has awarded UOB over claims in a long-running civil suit regarding inflated housing loans.
UOB has been awarded S$17.7 million ($13.8 million) in claims in a civil suit over inflated housing loans involving a conspiracy between Indonesian developer Lippo Marina Collection (LMC) and two property agents, according to a «Straits Times» report citing legal proceedings.
S$182 million in home loans were granted by UOB between December 2011 and September 2013 to purported purchasers of 38 units at high-end waterfront residence Marina Collection in Singapore, developed and sold by LMC. The loans were based on inflated prices as substantial furniture rebates of 22 to 34 percent were not disclosed to the bank, with the excess paid to the buyers.
The purchasers of the 38 units all defaulted on their loans by April 2015. The long-running lawsuit first began in 2014.
Appeal to Follow
UOB’s compensation includes excess loan losses, statutory interest, cost of funding the loans, credit spread and various other expenses minus repayments and rental income collected by the bank. However, the court judge found that UOB had failed to mitigate losses by not selling the repossessed homes during a market recovery in 2017, which the bank argued was reasonable while awaiting the lawsuit’s outcome.
«Notwithstanding the award, UOB intends to appeal the decision,» said a spokesperson for the bank.
