China's central bank warned about the risk of credit card related bad debt on Thursday as money owed 180 days past the due date was on the rise in the third quarter.

Credit cards debt 180 days past the due repayment date stood at 7.92 billion yuan (US$1.19 billion) by the end of the third quarter, up 8.5 percent from the second quarter, according to a statement released Thursday on the website of the People's Bank of China.

Taking this into account, the central bank warned commercial banks to pay close attention to risks associated with credit card related bad debt.

Money owed 180 days past the due repayment date accounted for 2.1 percent of the total amount of debt by the end of the third quarter, down 0.4 percentage point from the second quarter, according to the statement.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2010)