Banks' bad loans rise in Feb

The soured loans of Philippine banks picked up for the 14th straight month in February, bringing the gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to a steady 3.44 percent, amid high interest rates.

- KEISHA TA-ASAN

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed bad loans rose by 13.4 percent to P466.1 billion in February from P411.2 billion in the same month last year. This is also 1.2 percent higher than the P460.8 billion logged in January.

Despite the rise in bad debts, the banking sector's NPL ratio was unchanged from 3.44 percent in January.

This developed as banks' total loan portfolio stood at P13.54 trillion in February, rising by 1.2 percent from a month ago and 9.1 percent from the previous year.

The NPL ratio matched the 3.44 percent in October last year and was the highest since the 3.46 percent seen in May 2023.