China's central bank said on Saturday that the non-performing asset (NPA) securitization program has nothing to do with the country's rising bad loan ratio, and is an institutional move aimed at developing a market for bad assets management in China.

Pan Gongsheng, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said the program's primary aim is to promote the markets for bad asset management and loan product securitization in China.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the PBOC, assured regulators will be cautious in the implementation of the program and put financial risks under control.

China has selected six major commercial banks for the first batch of financial institutions that will launch a trial program for non-performing asset securitization.

Non-performing loans have been rising in China for 17 consecutive quarters, according to statistics from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

By Xin Zhiming (chinadaily.com.cn)