The average non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in Taiwanese banks rose 0.06 percentage points month-on-month to 1.6 percent at the end of last month, the Financial Supervisory Commission’s latest data showed yesterday.
Overall, asset quality in the banking sector showed no big change in the past few months, as the NPL ratio was 1.69 percent in the first quarter, 1.55 percent in the second quarter and 1.53 percent in the third, the commission data showed.
Bad loans at the nation’s 37 banks totaled NT$298.2 billion (US$9.03 billion) at the end of last month, an increase of NT$11.8 billion from October, the commission said in a statement.
Outstanding loans in the banking sector grew NT$62.5 billion month-on-month to NT$18.67 trillion last month, it said.
Including those at the nation’s postal savings system, outstanding loans at Taiwan’s major financial institutions totaled NT$21.33 trillion at the end of last month, an increase of 4.22 percent from a year earlier, central bank data showed.
The commission’s latest bad loan data showed that 36 of the 37 banks saw their NPL ratios drop to below 5 percent last month, with 28 being lower than 2.5 percent.
The commission said it would pay close attention to banks with a much higher bad loan ratio, such as Chinfon Commercial Bank (慶豐銀行), which reported the highest NPL ratio of 31.56 percent at the end of last month.
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