Chinese banks saw their bad loan ratio increase to 1.59 percent at the end of September, the banking regulator said Thursday.
The ratio was 0.09 percentage point higher than it was at the end of June, with the value of outstanding non-performing loans (NPLs) rising 94.4 billion yuan (14.84 billion U.S. dollars) to reach 1.19 trillion yuan, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).
An NPL is a loan that is in default or close to being in default.
Despite the NPL increase, the CBRC said the lenders' overall capability to offset risks remains stable.
The banks' loan loss provisions, or funds set aside to cover potential loan losses, added 97.3 billion yuan to reach 2.26 trillion yuan by the end of September.
Chinese banks posted combined profits of 1.29 trillion yuan by the end of September, up 2.21 percent from a year ago.
