While the nonperforming loans outstanding for Chinese commercial banks continued to rise, the NPL ratio remained flat in the second quarter, said the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The NPL balance for commercial banks increased 3.25 percent from the previous quarter to 1.44 trillion yuan ($216 billion) in the second quarter. The NPL ratio stood at 1.75 percent, the same as the first quarter, according to latest statistics released by the CBRC on Wednesday.

Although the NPL ratio of large commercial banks dropped 3 basis points to 1.69 percent during the same period, the NPL ratios of other types of banks were all on the rise. Among all commercial lenders, rural commercial banks recorded the highest NPL ratio of 2.62 percent, up 6 basis points from the previous quarter.