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THE most
conscientious borrowers from rural and cooperative banks
do not hail from Luzon or the Visayas but from Mindanao.
“Rural
and cooperative banks in Mindanao continued to have the
lowest nonperforming loan ratio at 8.98 percent, down
from three months earlier of 9.88 percent, compared to
Luzon and the Visayas, which posted relatively higher
ratios of 11.4 percent and 12.25 percent, respectively,”
said BSP governor Amando Tetangco Jr. in a statement.
Luzon
and Visayas-based rural and cooperative banks had NPLs
averaging 11.7 percent and 12.25 percent, respectively,
at end-September 2006.
These
developments allowed the industry’s overall NPL ratio to
move down more than half a percent to 11.07 percent from
11.63 percent three months earlier. The fall in NPLs was
complemented by a P2.8-billion increase in total loan
portfolio to P81.72 billion from a year ago of P71.7
billion and P79 billion three months earlier. --J. Vallecera |
