The ratio of new non-performing loans in commercial banks may increase by more than 5 percent by the end of the year, according to a research on financial bad assets by China Orient Asset Management Co released on Monday.

Over the next year, NPL will expand significantly pushing up the overall size of soured assets, it said.

Most of the surveyed believed that the most risky debtors are in East China, including privately-owned enterprises, small businesses, and high energy consumption and polluting companies, whose NPL ratio is likely to amount to 1 to 2 percent.

The chances of new loans' generating NPL will grow slightly in 2013. But they will increase significantly in 2015, it found.