China's commercial banks report stable asset quality

BEIJING - China's commercial banks have reported stable asset quality by the end of the third quarter this year, with a bad loan rate of 1.86 percent, official data showed.

Outstanding non-performing loans of China's commercial banks reached 2.37 trillion yuan ($339 billion) by the end of Q3, up 132 billion yuan from the end of the previous quarter, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC).

Meanwhile, outstanding normal loans of the commercial banks stood at 124.75 trillion yuan in the same period.

The provision coverage ratio, a measure of funds set aside to cover bad loans, stood at 187.63 percent, down 2.97 percentage points from the end of Q2.

CBIRC data also showed that assets of China's banking financial institutions totaled 284.67 trillion yuan by the end of Q3, up 7.7 percent year-on-year.