Taiwanese banks’ loans to SMEs rose to $305b in April

The bad loans ratio rose slightly to 0.25% as of end-April.

Loans extended by Taiwan’s domestic banks to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rose to $305b (NT$9.88t) in April 2024.

This is an increase of NT$19.2b compared to end-March, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) release in June.

Loans extended to SMEs by domestic banks accounted for 65.02% of loans to total enterprises, and 68.47% of loans to private enterprises, which is a slight decline compared to March. 

The average non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of SME loans was 0.25% as of end-April, the FSC said. This isa 0.01 percentage point rise compared to the ratio in end-March. 

Overall, Taiwanese banks are expected to report stable asset quality performance over the next two years, according to a separate report by Fitch Ratings.

(NT$1 = US$0.031; based on Google data as of 20 June 2024, 12:25 PM)