RURAL and cooperative banks posted non-performing loans (NPLs) that comprised 12.04 percent of their total lending for the quarter to end-March 2015, rising from an 11.85 percent ratio in the preceding quarter but falling from 13.14 percent a year earlier, data released by the central bank on Tuesday showed.

In absolute terms, the amount of small banks’ bad loans dropped 7.45 percent to P16.76 billion at end-March from P18.11 billion a year earlier. But from the preceding quarter, the end-March gross NPL level increased by 2.2 percent from P16.40 billion recorded at end-December.