Major banks' NPL ratio falls to 8.9% (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-01-27 11:11 China's banking watchdog
announced Thursday the average non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of major domestic
banks dropped to a single digit for the first time, down from 17.2 percent in
2003 to 8.9 percent in 2005.
The Big Four state banks and 13 national shareholding banks are reckoned as
the bedrock of China's banking system. The government is overhauling them -- by
inviting overseas investors for them and listing them in the stock market --
ahead of the full opening of China's financial industry by the end of this year.
Their current NPL ratio, however, is still well above the 1-2 percent level
reported by famous international banks.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission report said major Chinese banks
posted 185 billion yuan in pre-tax profits for last year. Their equity capital
jumped a year-on-year 24.5 percent to 1.1 trillion yuan, increasing at a faster
pace than loans, assets and deposits for the first time.
A total of 53 banks said that their capital adequacy ratio, being a measure
of their own capital in proportion to outstanding lending, topped the 8 percent
minimum requirement by the international standard.
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