Banks' non-performing loans to peak later than expected: Fitch

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Ratings agency Fitch said non-performing loans at Indian banks are expected to peak as late as March 2016, compared with its earlier estimate of the middle of current fiscal year that started in April.

The initial expectation was for non-performing assets to peak around now but this has been pushed back by recent macroeconomic developments, Saswata Guha, director in the Financial Institutions team at Fitch, said on a conference call.

Earlier this week, Fitch downgraded the viability ratings on three state-run banks including Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda citing concerns about a protracted economic slowdown, high "stressed assets" and low capital.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Michael Urquhart)