CNY - China's bank regulator cautions on nonperforming loans in an uneven recovery

MarsYu/iStock via Getty Images Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the People's Bank of China has kept rates low and has provided fiscal stimulus to support the economy, however, the nation's recovery has been uneven, leading to a rise in bad loans in the banking sector, Reuters reports. Outstanding non-performing loans increased 108.3B yuan ($16.7B) to 3.5T yuan ($540.7B) by end of June, while the bad loan ratio declined to 1.86%, Liu Zhongrui from the statistics department of China Banking and Regulatory Commission told reporters in Beijing. The CBIRC wants banks to increase provisions and disposals of bad assets, with the size of bad loans disposed of in the first half expected to be larger than that a year ago, Liu said. He also says Y/Y base effects are the primary reason for why Chinese banks are expected to increase profit growth in the first half of 2021. Total assets

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China's bank regulator cautions on nonperforming loans in an uneven recovery