The total domestic asset of Chinese banks stood at 261.4 trillion yuan at end-December, up 6.4 percent from a year earlier. Chinese commercial banks ’ non - performing debt ( NPL ) ratio reached a 10-year high of 30 % at the end of 2018 . The increase in bad debt comes as the country is experiencing an economic slowdown amid low domestic demand and ongoing trade disagreements with the US . The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission confirmed the overall NPLs of commercial banks was around CNY2tn ( $ 297bn ) as December concluded , unchanged from January 2018 . It also reported that “ special mention ” loans — [UNK] with the possibility of becoming non - performing — grew to CNY3.4tn ( $ 503bn ) , making up 3.16 % of the banks ’ total lending volume .
Chinese commercial banks ’ non - performing debt ( NPL ) ratio reached a 10-year high of 30 % at the end of 2018 . The increase in bad debt comes as the country is experiencing an economic slowdown amid low domestic demand and ongoing trade disagreements with the US . The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission confirmed the overall NPLs of commercial banks was around CNY2tn ( $ 297bn ) as December concluded , unchanged from January 2018 . It also reported that “ special mention ” loans — [UNK] with the possibility of becoming non - performing — grew to CNY3.4tn ( $ 503bn ) , making up 3.16 % of the banks ’ total lending volume .