BSP: PHL banks can cover losses from loans, unproductive assets

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday the country’s universal and commercial banks have adequate provisions against possible losses from bad loans and unproductive assets. The NPL coverage ratio last August was 121.50 percent, an improvement from 114.52 percent a year earlier, central bank data showed. Up to 62.31 percent of banks’ non-performing assets are covered, up by 3 percentage points 59.17 percent, according to the BSP. Restructuring of loans was partly less of a problem for the banks as the ratio of restructured loans to the total loan portfolio dipped to 1.34 percent from 1.68 percent year-on-year. In gross terms, restructured loans totaled P41.22 billion. The stock of universal and commercial banks’ non-performing (NPL) loans rose slightly to P76.96 billion from P73.05 billion in the same comparable period, which brought the NPL ratio to 2.52 percent, the central bank said. The banks’ August loans totaled P3.058 trillion, up by 2.64 from July, BSP data showed. — ELR/VS, GMA News