Zhang Yun, vice president of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), said on Monday that last week's major quake in Sichuan Province would probably leave the bank with more than 6 billion yuan (860.68 million U.S. dollars) in non-performing loans (NPL) because of casualties and building damage.
Zhang told an industry conference that 163 branches of the ABC, one of the big four state-owned banks, had halted operations as of last Tuesday morning due to network and terminal damage and building collapses in the hardest-hit provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
Zhu Min, vice president of the Bank of China, the country's second-largest lender, told the conference that the quake exerted pressure on the industry's housing loans, as "some houses remained standing but the owners were dead or missing, while some owners survived but their houses were destroyed."
The death toll in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake stood at 34,073 as of Monday noon, with another 245,108 people injured, according to the earthquake relief headquarters of the State Council (cabinet).
Yang Zaiping, vice president of the China Banking Association (CBA), said on Monday the industry was assessing the impact of the quake and the CBA would classify losses into different categories.
Yang said the industry would provide "tangible" solutions on the basis of the appraisal.
Banks have offered 2.99 billion yuan in loans for the quake-stricken areas as of Monday noon to support reconstruction.
Source:Xinhua
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