Commercial banks in China reported a sharp decline in both non-performing loans (NPLs) and the NPL ratio last year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on Sunday.

The NPL ratio of lenders, including foreign banks, was 2.45 percent at the end of 2008, down by 3.71 percentage points from a year ago, the CBRC said.

In addition, outstanding NPLs was reduced by 700.24 billion (US$102 billion) to 568.18 billion yuan (US$83 billion).

The banks' total assets at home were 62.4 trillion yuan (US$9.1 trillion) by the end of December, up 18.6 percent from a year earlier, the banking regulator stated.

Liu Mingkang, CBRC chairman, on Friday called on domestic banks to boost risk management and continue strict controls of NPLs and the NPL ratio.

The government has urged lenders to extend more credit since late last year, amid other efforts to spur the economic growth. But this has aroused worries of rising bad loans in deteriorating economic conditions.

China's economy slowed sharply last year, hit by weakening exports and property investment. The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 9 percent annually in the third quarter, compared with 10.1 percent in the second quarter and 10.6 in the first quarter.

The government is scheduled to release economic data for December next week.

Leading economist Cheng Siwei said earlier this month that the economy would start to recover in the second half of the year, but will regain full steam in 2011.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2009)