Current Assets in Cambodia’s Banking System Rise to 25.6 billion USD by June

PHNOM PENH— Current assets in Cambodia's banking and financial institutions had risen to 25.6 billion U.S. dollars by June 2016, an increase of 21.3 percent in the last 12 months, according to the biannual report of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), or the central bank, on Tuesday.

The Southeast Asian country has 36 commercial banks, 14 specialized banks, eight representative offices of foreign banks, 57 microfinance institutions, and 160 rural credit operators.

The report attributed the growth to the surges in capital, loan funds, and customers' deposits.

The country's banking and financial institutions saw 15.3 percent growth in capital in the last 12 months to 4.55 billion U. S. dollars by June this year, said the report, adding that the loan funds grew by 30.5 percent to 2.17 billion U.S. dollars.

It added that the customers' deposits rose by 19.6 percent in the last 12 months to 14.13 billion U.S. dollars by June this year, while lending increased by 21.7 percent to 15.7 billion U.S. dollars.

"The rapid progress in the banking system clearly reflects sound economic growth and increase in public confidence," the report said.

It added that the non-performing loan ratio, or bad loan, at the banking sector was low — only 3.1 percent during the first half of 2016, while the bad loan at the microfinance institutions was 1 percent.

Cambodia has the population of about 15 million. According to the report, the banking and financial institutions have been serving some 4.4 million depositors and 2.6 million borrowers.

By June this year, the banking and financial institutions have a total of 1,513 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) throughout the country.