Thrift banks Q1 bad loans ratio drop to 4.94%

BAD loans held by the country’s thrift banks dropped in the first quarter of 2014 from a year earlier despite an increase in lending, an indication that sound lending practices are in place, the central bank said on Monday.

According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the gross non-performing loans (NPL) of thrift banks stood at P27.06 billion at end-March, representing 4.94 percent of the banks’ total loan portfolio (TLP) during the period.