Banks’ NPL ratio rises

THE loan quality of the country’s largest banks deteriorated at end-August from the end-July level as their soured credit exposures grew faster than their overall lending.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the non-performing loans ratio of universal and commercial banks in the first eight months of the year improved to 2.52 percent compared with 3.25 percent in the same period last year. Month-on-month, the bad loans ratio however went up by 0.07 percentage points from 2.45 percent in the first seven months of this year.

The BSP said the month-on-month hike in the bad loans ratio stemmed from the 5.35 percent increase in NPLs, compared with the slower 2.64 percent rise in total loan portfolio.

Net of interbank loans, the NPL ratio improved to 2.68 percent in August from 3.67 percent last year, but inched up from 2.62 percent in July.

The ratio went up from last month owing to the increase in NPLs, which outweighed the 2.97 percent rise in regular loans.

The industry’s provisioning against potential credit losses remained adequate despite some decline, the BSP noted. –LAILANY P. GOMEZ, Manila Times