The government of the Philippines is considering a proposal to fund the setting up of a non-performing loans agency by issuing around Ps200 billion $4.14 billion in bonds. The idea came from Vitaliano Nanangas, chairman of the Social Security System SSS, the state agency with responsibility for giving protection to private sector workers.
Before the Asian crisis took hold in 1997, the NPL ratio in the Philippines was under 4%. That figure has risen significantly over the last four years, currently standing at 15%, and the new administration has identified it as a problem that needs to be rectified.
Trying to do so by setting up an agency to firstly purchase bad...
