CDB's NPL ratio drops to 0.52% by end-March

China Development Bank (CDB), one of the three policy banks in the country, announced that its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dropped by 5 basis points to 0.52% as of Mar. 31.

Its nonperforming assets ratio stood at 0.48% at the end of March, and the total outstanding loan rose to RMB 2.55 trillion, compared with RMB 2.250 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2007. The average NPL ratio for Chinese commercial banks was 6.7% as of the end of last year.

Last year, CDB has accepted capital injection from China Investment Corp (CIC), China's sovereign funds managing China's foreign reserves, with the purpose to meet capital requirement for commercial banks and to become a commercial lender, China Knowledge reported earlier.

It is also the first policy bank to make the transition to a fully commercial institution.