China's banks see both declines in NPL balance and ratio

China's commercial banks‘ non-performing loans declined by 2.4 billion yuan (HK$2.62 trillion) quarter-on-quarter to 3.4 trillion yuan as of June-end and the NPL ratio improved 0.02 percentage points to 1.49 percent, official data shows.

The banks posted a combined net profit of 1.2 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, according to data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

The sector's net interest margin narrowed slightly to 1.42 percent in the second quarter, down 1 basis point from the previous quarter.

Banks increased their provisions against potential loan losses, with loan loss reserves rising by 126.9 billion yuan from the previous quarter to 7.3 trillion yuan. The provision coverage ratio strengthened by 3.84 percentage points to 211.97 percent.

STAFF REPORTER