Thai bad loans at $71.6b

Thai bad loans at $71.6b

BANGKOK (AFP): The central Bank of Thailand said Wednesday the troubled financial sector's non-performing loans stood at 2.65 trillion baht (US$71.6 billion) at the end of June.

Bank of Thailand deputy governor Kitti Patpongpibul said non- performing loans accounted for 47.47 percent of total loans worth 5.59 trillion baht.

Kitti, quoted by AFP-affiliated financial newswire AFX-Asia, said the latest NPL figure was an improvement on the 2.73 trillion baht recorded at the end of May.

The non-performing loans of eight private banks stood at around 1.2 trillion baht at the end of June while the NPLs of banks which have been the subject of government intervention totaled 1.18 trillion, he said.

Non-performing loans of branches of foreign banks in Thailand stood at 85 billion baht, while finance companies had combined non-performing loans of 168 billion baht, Kitti said.