STILL ‘BENIGN’: Local banks reported a combined NT$70.2 billion in nonperforming loans as of the end of May, with the nonperforming loans ratio decreasing from April

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 22, 2019
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

Taiwanese banks’ loan books grew to a record NT$29.2 trillion (US$940.4 billion) as of the end of May, up NT$230.5 billion from the end of April, statistics released this month by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed.

That was the third straight month of growth and was faster than increases of NT$52.7 billion and NT$106.9 billion in the previous two months, the data showed.

Compared with the beginning of this year, combined loans by the nation’s 37 local banks expanded NT$357.6 billion, driven mainly by corporate demand for working capital, the commission said.

Despite the increase, local banks’ asset quality remained “benign,” reporting a combined NT$70.2 billion in nonperforming loans as of the end of May, a monthly decrease of NT$1.7 billion. The nonperforming loans ratio was 0.24 percent, down 0.01 percentage points from a month earlier and down 0.03 percentage points from a year earlier, the data showed.    [FULL  STORY]