EMERGING EUROPE SUFFERS LOAN LOSS PAINS

摘要

After five unrelenting years of recession, Greek banks are dragged down with non-performing loans (NPLs). Out of the 20 banks with the highest NPLs in 2012, a quarter are from Greece, while National Bank of Greece also lurks just outside the top 20. Among the top 300 banks by NPL ratios, eight are Greek, and their aggregate NPL ratio was 23.3% based on 2012 data. However, there is also a profound and growing NPL problem in a number of central and eastern European (CEE) economies. Bad loans in Hungary are on the way down, but there are still nine Ukrainian banks among the top 300 and their aggregate NPL ratio is 14%. Slovenian and Romanian banks in this sample both have aggregate NPL ratios in excess of 20%, with Hungary at 19%. By contrast, the aggregate ratio in Spain, where 15 banks feature in the top 300 for NPLs, is about half this, at 9.1%. There are no Spanish banks in the top 20, although Catalunya Bane falls just outside.