Thrift banks' NPL ratio up to 7.9% as of June

By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) Updated December 15, 2010 

MANILA, Philippines - The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of thrift banks deteriorated while that of rural and cooperative banks posted an improvement as the industry’s total loan portfolio continued to expand as of end-June this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

Data released by the BSP showed that the soured loans of thrift banks went up 11 percent to P25.87 billion as of end-June this year from P23.29 billion as of end-June last year. The industry’s total loan portfolio increased 4.6 percent to P326.27 billion from P311.96 billion.

This translated to a higher NPL ratio of 7.93 percent as of end-June this year from 7.85 percent as of end-March and 7.47 percent as of end-June last year as the growth in soured loans grew faster than the industry’s loan portfolio.

The industry’s real and other properties acquired (ROPA) grew by 4.62 percent to P24.5 billion as of end-June this year from P23.42 billion as of end-June last year while non-performing assets went up by 7.8 percent to P50.37 billion from P46.71 billion.

On the other hand, the industry’s restructured loans inched up by 2.99 percent to P4.405 billion from a year-ago level of P4.277 billion while loan loss reserves rose 11.7 percent to P13.72 billion from P12.29 billion.

The BSP also reported that the soured loans of rural banks retreated by 8.1 percent to P9.44 billion as of end-June this year from P10.27 billion as of end-June last year while the industry’s total loan portfolio improved by 4.9 percent to P100.22 billion from P95.48 billion translating to an NPL ratio of 9.42 percent from 10.75 percent.

Based on the three major geographical regions, the BSP said rural banks in Min-danao exhibited better loan quality with an NPL ratio of 5.62 percent.