The total assets of China’s financial institutions rose to 476.49 trillion yuan ($66.93 trillion) as of the end of March this year. This figure represents a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 8.5 percent, a statement by the People’s Bank of China revealed.
Breaking down the data further, the assets of the banking sector reached 429.58 trillion yuan, up 8.1 percent YoY. The assets of securities institutions rose 2.5 percent YoY to 14.05 trillion yuan. Additionally, the insurance sector’s assets gained 15.8 percent year-over-year, reaching 32.86 trillion yuan.
The liabilities of the financial institutions in China totaled 434.97 trillion yuan, up 8.5 percent compared to the previous year.
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On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China decided to keep the benchmark lending interest rates unchanged during its monthly policy review. This decision was in line with market expectations.
The stabilization of the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) – the base lending rate – highlights Beijing’s continued limited efforts to ease monetary policy. This is despite a shrinking interest rate margin and a weak Chinese currency, as well as recent economic data suggesting the need for more support to boost the uneven economic recovery.
Specifically, the one-year LPR was kept at 3.45 percent, while the five-year LPR was maintained at 3.95 percent. A Reuters survey of 30 market participants found that 70 percent predicted both rates would remain unchanged, indicating the central bank’s decision was largely anticipated.
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