Spain bad debts ease off 14-year high in March

Bad loans held by Spanish banks in March eased back from the 14-year high recorded for February, Bank of Spain data showed on Tuesday, for the first fall in six months.

Total bad debt held by banks and financing cooperatives, excluding retail credit cards, fell by 829 million euros in March to 92.3 billion, while total lending rose slightly to 1.77 trillion.

The ratio of bad debt to total debt, or non-performing loans (NPL) ratio, dropped to 5.2 percent in March from 5.3 percent a month earlier.