China Banking Regulatory Commission issued 2008 annual report last week.  The report shows that the total assets of China's financial institutions stood at 62.4 trillion yuan, up 18.6% from last year end, and equivalent to 207.5% of China's GDP.  Weighted capital sufficiency was 12%, up 3.7% from 2007, and more than satisfying the minimum international standard.  Net profit of the industry totaled 583.4 billion yuan, return on equity was 17.1%, and return on asset was 1.0%.

Bank cards, e-banking, and derivatives product trading developed steadily last year. As of the end of 2008, financial institutions had issued 1.78 billion bank cards, up 21% from 2007. Bank card transaction volume grew 27% to 111.3 trillion yuan in 2008.  On the average, each Chinese held 1.32 bank cards.

Total financial product sales of 83 domestic and foreign financial institutions last year amounted to 3.87 trillion yuan, increasing 372.3% over a year earlier.  66.87 billion yuan worth of asset-backed securities were issued by the end of last year.