China's Top 5 Banks' Bad Loans down in 2009: CBRC

Source: Xinhua

The non-performing loan (NPL) rate of China's five major banks was down by one percentage point to 1.8 percent from the start of the year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said Thursday.

Non-performing loans fell by 63.8 billion yuan to 357 billion yuan (52.3 U.S. dollars) in 2009, according to the statement, accounting for about 72 percent of the total bad loans of all Chinese commercial banks, the CBRC said in a statement on its website.

The NPL rate for the major banks was higher than the average level of all Chinese banks, which was 1.58 percent.

The five banks include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications, which are all listed companies, in addition to the unlisted Agricultural Bank of China.

The four listed lenders' provision cover was 163.41 percent, above the level of 150 percent required by the CBRC, and that of the Agricultural Bank of China stood at 105.81 percent, higher than the required 100 percent, the CBRC said.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the CBRC, said China's big and medium-sized banks should attach great importance to risk control, and reforms and innovations should be carried out to raise their core competitiveness.

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Editor: Jessie Hwang