Bank assets rise 17.9% in 2012

China's total bank assets at home and abroad were worth 133.6 trillion yuan ($21.46 trillion) at the end of 2012, a 17.9 percent rise on the previous year, according to the latest statistics from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The assets of large-scale commercial banks in China were valued at 60 trillion yuan, accounting for 44.9 percent of the total and representing an increase of 11.9 percent, while the total amount of assets from listed commercial banks was 23.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 28 percent.

Meanwhile, the level of debt carried by the banks also rose.

Total indebtedness of the country's domestic banks hit 125 trillion yuan, a 17.8 percent rise.

Indebtedness of large commercial banks was 56 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.6 percent, while listed commercial banks had debt of 22.2 trillion yuan, 28.4 percent higher than the previous year.

According to the commission, the balance of non-performing loans in all commercial banks reached 492.9 billion yuan, 64.7 billion yuan more than the same period the previous year with the rate of non-performing loans at 0.95 percent, 0.01 percent lower than 2011.

The liquidity ratio increased 2.7 percent to 45.8 percent, while the loan-deposit ratio was 0.5 percent higher at 65.3 percent.

The excess reserve rate of the yuan was 3.5 percent, 0.4 percent higher than 2011.

The figures showed that commercial banks in China managed to make a total net profit of 1.24 trillion yuan in 2012, an annual increase of 18.9 percent.

The average profit rate of assets was the same as the previous year at 1.3 percent while the average profit rate of net worth declined 0.6 percent to 19.8 percent.

The weighted average capital adequacy ratio increased by 0.5 percent to 13.3 percent while the weighted average core capital adequacy ratio was 10.6 percent, 0.4 percent higher than 2011.