Mixed growth for China’s banking industry in 2011

Total assets of China's banking sector jumped 19% year-on-year to US$16.8 trillion in 2011, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank.

The number of business outlets of financial institutes totaled 200,000 while the sector's workforce added 111,000 people from 2010 earlier to reach 3.19 million. Financial institutes in eastern China, the country’s richest, accounted for 60% of the sector's total assets.

In terms of asset growth, the western regions expanded most in 2011 at a rate of 22% followed by 20% in the east, 19% percent in the northeast and 18% in middle China.

Deposits growth continued to slow in all of China’s regions, however. It fell 3.7% in the east; 1.1% in middle China; 1.6% in western China and 0.6% in northeastern China.