Personal loans become the main focus of disposal; banks intensively transfer non-performing assets

On March 3rd, Beijing Business Daily reporters found that after the Spring Festival holiday, many institutions including large state-owned banks, joint-stock banks, and city commercial banks have been actively listing non-performing asset packages on the Silver登 Center. The main targets are personal bad loans, including consumer loans and credit card overdrafts, aligning with the industry trend of gradually exposing risks amid the expansion of retail lending in recent years.

Regarding the listed asset packages, they generally show poor asset quality, long overdue periods, and are mostly unsecured credit loans. Additionally, most assets are in non-litigation status, highlighting banks’ urgent need to accelerate disposal and avoid risk accumulation.

Intensive Listing of Non-Performing Asset Packages

Banks are clearing their non-performing assets in a concentrated manner. On March 3rd, Beijing Business Daily noted that China Bank’s Jiangxi Branch, Qingdao Branch, Dalian Branch, Liaoning Branch, and Shanxi Branch have all actively listed non-performing asset packages, mainly involving personal loans.

Specifically, China Bank Jiangxi Branch announced the transfer of a personal bad loan (consumer loan) project for the first quarter of 2026, involving a total of 1.11 billion yuan in principal and interest, 1,545 assets, with 714 borrowers. The weighted average overdue days are 738.35 days, with an average borrower age of 43.43 years. According to the five-level classification, there are 912 substandard loans, 344 loss loans, and 289 doubtful loans, all unsecured credit loans. In terms of litigation status, 1,023 assets are non-litigation, accounting for over 60%, while 522 assets are under litigation, settled, or in mediation.

China Bank Qingdao Branch also announced its first-quarter personal bad loan transfer, involving 593 assets for 267 borrowers, with a total principal and interest of 37.36 million yuan. The asset quality shows 288 substandard loans, 182 loss loans, and 123 doubtful loans, with an average overdue of 463.02 days. All are unsecured credit loans, with over 80% in non-litigation status.

Besides large state-owned banks, joint-stock banks and city commercial banks are also actively listing personal bad assets on the Silver登 Center.

Ping An Bank launched its first batch of personal bad loans (credit card overdrafts) transfer this year, involving 11,651 assets and borrowers, with an outstanding principal of about 131 million yuan, interest of about 1.65 million yuan, and total outstanding principal and interest of about 148 million yuan, plus other fees of approximately 572,750 yuan. The weighted average overdue days are 1,104.65 days, all classified as loss, all unsecured credit loans, with only one asset in final enforcement status; the rest are not in litigation.

Jiangsu Bank announced its first and second batches of personal bad loan transfers for 2026, involving 34,000 borrowers and 122,000 loans, with a total outstanding principal and interest of 1.258 billion yuan, all personal online loans, with an average overdue of over 310 days, most not yet in litigation. The second batch involves about 1.104 billion yuan in outstanding principal and interest, with 14,361 assets and 10,891 borrowers, all unsecured credit loans. Over 97% of these assets are non-litigation.

Regarding the concentrated listing of bad asset packages by banks, Gao Zhengyang, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, pointed out that in recent years, retail banking has expanded rapidly, and under the industry’s customer segmentation strategy, the risk resistance of long-tail customers is relatively weak. Meanwhile, the online process of consumer credit continues to accelerate, with an increasing proportion of credit-type loans, which lack effective risk mitigation due to their unsecured nature. Overall, retail assets tend to be small in amount, numerous, and dispersed, making bad debts more prone to point outbreaks and widespread diffusion.

Pricing and Collection Challenges Persist

From the perspective of multiple banks actively listing bad asset packages, the types are relatively concentrated, mainly personal loans, consistent with the industry trend. As retail lending expands, risks associated with consumer loans and credit card overdrafts are gradually surfacing, becoming key areas for bad asset disposal.

Furthermore, the assets generally show poor quality and long overdue periods. The packages listed this time all feature long overdue times, with high proportions of loss assets, indicating significant difficulty in recovery and full risk exposure. Most assets are still in non-litigation status, not yet in judicial recovery, reflecting banks’ efforts to accelerate disposal by transferring assets in batches early after overdue, to avoid costs and risks of long-term holding.

A banking industry insider noted that the guarantee methods are mostly single and unsecured, increasing uncertainty in asset recovery. Without collateral, banks face difficulties in recovering losses if borrowers encounter repayment problems.

Gao Zhengyang believes that valuation and pricing of such asset packages face difficulties. Since personal loan bad debts involve numerous small claims, with dispersed debtors, traditional valuation methods based on individual due diligence are hard to apply. Moreover, unsecured credit loans lack collateral as a valuation anchor, making future cash flow recovery uncertain and complicating accurate pricing models.

Additionally, transaction barriers exist. Massive data leads to significant information asymmetry, making it difficult for transferees to conduct thorough due diligence quickly, raising the bar for their pricing capabilities.

Recovery and disposal also face many challenges. Gao Zhengyang emphasized that on one hand, it’s hard to accurately assess debtors’ willingness to repay, and traditional collection methods are costly. On the other hand, most assets are not yet in litigation, and judicial resources are limited, prolonging recovery cycles and lowering actual recovery rates. In the field of personal bad loans, technological empowerment—such as AI and big data imaging—can help achieve precise asset segmentation and differentiated disposal. Cooperation between banks and asset management companies (AMCs) is also expected to deepen, jointly building a digital and intelligent model for personal bad loan disposal.

Beijing Business Daily Reporter: Song Yitong

(Edited by: Qian Xiaorui)