ISLAMABAD: Bad loans of Pakistani banks have mounted to record high mark of 829 billion rupees in calendar 2020. In percentage, the quantum of non-performing loans (NPLs/bad loans) of banks surged 85 billion rupees, 8.91 percent in comparison with calendar year 2019.
State Bank of Pakistan’s Financial Stability Report released on July 7, 2021, show over 50pc rise in bad loans in calendar year 2020. Agribusiness, energy, and sugar sectors demonstrated highest rate of non-performing loans in 2020.
Meanwhile, according to report, banks have rescheduled and deferred 679 billion rupees loans during the ongoing pandemic in the country.
State Bank further reported that the financial system of Pakistan marked a strong resilience and continued to perform its operations in a challenging environment. The sector’s asset base expanded by 14.08pc in CY20 as compared to 11.61pc in the previous year.
Strong earnings, in turn, enhanced the solvency of the banking sector, as capital adequacy ratio (CAR) increased by 156 basis points to 18.56pc at the end of CY20 — well above the minimum regulatory requirement of 11.5pc.
