June 21 (SeeNews) - Serbia and Albania recorded the largest improvement in the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of their respective banking sectors among 17 countries in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe (CESEE) in the 12 months to September 2017, according to a report of European Bank Coordination "Vienna" Initiative.
The NPL ratios in Serbia and Albania declined by 7.3 and 6.5 percentage points year-on-year at the end of September 2017, respectively, with figures demonstrating a steady downward trend of the NPL volumes and ratios for all 17 countries reviewed, a NPL Monitor for the CESEE region published by the Vienna Initiative shows.
However, NPL ratios across the region remain high, exceeding 10% in five countries, namely Albania (14.8%), Croatia (12.3%), Serbia (12.2%), Bulgaria (11.6%) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (10.8%), the Vienna Initiative said.
During the period under review, bad loans in Montenegro dropped below the 10% threshold, the report showed.
The reduction in the NPL volume across the region was primarily attributable to decreases in NPL stock in Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, the Vienna Initiative said.
The NPL volume in the CESEE region fell by 15.9% in the 12-month period leading up to September 2017. The average NPL ratio across the CESEE was 5.3%, down 1.4 percentage points since September 2016.
Details on the NPL profile in SEE countries follow:
|
NPL volume (bln euro) |
NPL ratio |
|
Sep'17 |
Variation (%, y/y) |
Sep'17 |
Variation (pp, y/y) |
Albania |
0.7 |
-28.1 |
14.8 |
-6.5 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1.0 |
-5.3 |
10.8 |
-1.3 |
Bulgaria |
4.8 |
-11.5 |
11.7 |
-2.3 |
Croatia |
4.4 |
-16.7 |
12.3 |
-2.1 |
Kosovo |
0.1 |
-20.9 |
3.6 |
-1.4 |
Macedonia |
0.3 |
-7.5 |
6.3 |
-0.7 |
Montenegro |
0.2 |
-20.6 |
7.4 |
-2.8 |
Romania |
4.6 |
-20.6 |
8.0 |
-2.0 |
Serbia |
2.1 |
-35.0 |
12.2 |
-7.3 |
Slovenia |
1.2 |
-30.7 |
4.3 |
-2.0 |
The Vienna Initiative is a framework for safeguarding the financial stability of emerging Europe. It was launched at the height of the first wave of the global financial crisis in January 2009. It brings together all the relevant public and private sector stakeholders of EU-based cross-border banks active in emerging Europe, which own much of the banking sectors in that region.