Foreign-funded banks up 47% in gross assets

The gross assets of foreign-funded banks on the Chinese mainland hit US$171.46 billion by the end of last year, up 47% from the level at the beginning of the year.

The combined assets of foreign-invested banks accounted for 2.4% of the total assets of financial institutions in the country, according to a report released by the central bank.

Among the gross assets of foreign-funded banks, US$95.16 billion was from the outstanding loans, up 54.7%. Meanwhile, the combined liabilities surged 45% to US$155.4 billion, of which US$60.66 billion was from the outstanding deposits, jumping 68.8%.

21 foreign banks on the mainland had gained the approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to transform into the corporate banks by the end of last year. Among the approved 21 foreign banks, 17 of them were put into operation, which boosted the number of operational foreign corporate banks on the mainland to 26 at the end of the year.