Chinese commercial banks' bad loan ratio declined in the first quarter, data from the banking regulator showed.

 

The non-performing loan ratio of commercial banks stood at 1.8 percent at the end of the first quarter, down 0.04 percentage points from the data seen at the end of last year, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said.

 

Outstanding bad loans from commercial banks amounted to 2.8 trillion yuan (about 435.7 billion U.S. dollars).

 

The data also showed the total assets of China's banking industry reached 329.6 trillion yuan by the end of March, up 9 percent year on year.

 

The lenders' capital adequacy ratio and provision coverage ratio came in at 14.51 percent and 187.14 percent, respectively.

 

By the end of the first quarter, outstanding loans to small and micro businesses extended by the banking sector amounted to 45.7 trillion yuan.