States Nonperforming Loans Near Top in Region

In the third quarter of 2011, Arkansas banks collectively had a nonperforming loan ratio of 3.78 percent, up from 3.28 percent from the same period in 2010.

The ratio represents a percentage of a bank’s assets that are 90 days or more past due and those that are not accruing interest.

Therefore, on average, banks in Arkansas had 3.78 percent of loans in problem categories, trailing only Indiana among the seven states in the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s Eighth District.

Arkansas is the only state wholly in the Eighth District. The other six states are partially in the Eighth and partially in another.

The collective nonperforming loan ratio for the Eighth District, which includes all of Arkansas and parts of six other states, was 3.22 percent. That’s down from 3.52 percent in the third quarter of 2010.

The U.S. average in the third quarter of 2011 was 4.32 percent.