As for the outlook, however, the reconstruction efforts from the flood damage as well as the accommodative financial environment are expected to underpin economic activity. Moreover, looking at emerging and commodity-exporting economies as a whole, inflation has been declining gradually and the accompanying recovery in real purchasing power is expected to underpin consumption.
Asset growth is supported by a stable deposit funding base. In line with the country’s domestic growth, banks’ total loan portfolio grew by 17.3 percent and is diverse across industry sectors. Notwithstanding sustained expansion in credit, banks demonstrate prudence in lending. Banks’ NPL ratios improved to 2.0 percent as of end-August 2017.