Chinese commercial banks' outstanding NPLs rise again

BEIJING - The value of Chinese commercial banks' outstanding non-performing loans (NPL) reached 526.5 billion yuan ($84.92) in the first quarter of 2013, official data showed on Wednesday.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said the NPL ratio of Chinese commercial banks stood at 0.96 percent in Q1 2013, slightly up from the 0.95 percent in Q4 2012, marking the sixth straight quarter of rises since Q4 2011.

The total assets of the Chinese banking sector stood at 141.3 trillion yuan in Q1 2013, a 17.03-percent increase year on year. The gross liabilities of Chinese banks in Q1 reached 132.2 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.86 percent, according to the CBRC.

China's banks saw both their total assets and liabilities increase in 2012, with the banks' liabilities reaching 122.6 trillion yuan, up 17.5 percent on an annual basis.

The CBRC sounded an alarm in April for commercial banks, warning that they should carefully watch loans extended to local government financing vehicles, a label used for financial entities set up by local governments to invest in infrastructure and other projects.