“The notable drop in the bank’s NPL ratio is considered a great achievement for us, which has also significantly improved our balance sheets,” Mohammad Reza Hosseinzadeh was also quoted as saying by BMI’s official website. According to Hosseinzadeh, BMI’s NPL ratio by the end of the previous Iranian year to March 20, 2017, stood at 7.8% while the average NPL ratio of major banks hovers around 8.8%. However, according to international standards, the ratio of NPLs should stand between 3% and 5%.