Banking Sector Sees Rise in Bad Loans

(Wenzhou) – The amount and ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking sector are increasing after steadily dropping for years as major state-owned banks finished share ownership reform and went public in the early 2000s.

By late 2011, the NPL ratio for the entire banking industry stood at less than 1 percent, and while there was general agreement the figure could rise, analysts thought the change would unfold slowly.