BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Outstanding loans extended by China's micro-credit companies came in at 907.6 billion yuan (about 126.7 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of September, official data showed.

In the first three quarters of this year, the figure logged a drop of 34.7 billion yuan, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

By the end of last month, there were 6,054 micro-credit companies nationwide, the central bank said.

Micro-lenders largely target small companies and low-income groups in need of capital. In recent years, China has tightened regulations for the sector to rein in financial risks.