06.13.2001
ODL's continue to climb

• The seven largest banks have announced their overdue loan (ODL) amounts for May. Total ODL’s increased to NT$445b, up from NT$430b in April. The Bank of Taiwan (unlisted) was the exception, posting an ODL ratio equal to April's figure, while the other six banks recorded increases.

• The ODL ratios in May for Chang Hwa (2801 'Chang Yin'), First Commercial (2802 'Yi Yin') and Hua Nan (2803 'Hua Yin') are 7.5%, 7.2% and 7%, respectively. Hua Nan stills leads in quality, however, and all three banks showed only slight increases of 0.1~0.2% MoM.

• VB Primasia Opinion: The seven largest banks account for nearly half of the total loan market share in Taiwan. Their ODL situations can act as a proxy for the market and we do not expect to see much improvement in ratios in 3Q01.

WilliamFong@Primasia.com +886-[0]2-2547-8864