Chinese banks’ assets rise to $63.7 trillion, up 6.7% year-on-year

Official data released by China’s National Financial Regulatory Commission showed a steady expansion in assets recorded by Chinese banks and insurance companies during the first quarter of this year.

According to Al Arabiya Business, the data revealed that the total assets in local and foreign currencies of the country’s banking institutions reached 458.3 trillion yuan (approximately $63.71 trillion) by the end of March, a 6.7% increase compared to the previous year.

Insurance companies saw their total assets rise by 5.4% to 37.8 trillion yuan from the beginning of this year to the end of March, according to data reported Saturday by the Xinhua News Agency.

During the period from January to March, the country’s commercial banks achieved a total net profit of 565.8 billion yuan. The non-performing loan ratio reached 1.51% at the end of March, compared to 1.5% at the beginning of the year.

On the insurance front, Chinese insurance companies’ original premium income reached 2.2 trillion yuan in the first quarter, and their compensation and payment expenses reached 827.4 billion yuan, according to data from the China Insurance Regulatory Authority.