Chinese banks' asset pool hits $37t in July

Asset growth picked up at a faster pace on an MoM basis.

Chinese banks continued to grow their massive asset holdings after volumes rose 7.5% YoY to $37t (CNY254.3t), according to data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The growth represents a monthly improvement from June’s 7.1% asset growth.

Also read: Chinese banks are the sixth largest creditors in the world

The combined onshore assets of the country’s big five - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications - clocked in at $13.27t (CNY90.4t), which represents more than a third (35.5%) of the banking sector’s total assets.

The country’s commercial banks on the other hand booked $4.77t (CNY32.5t) in total assets, accounting for 12.8% of the industry total.

The banking sector liabilities, however, picked up at around the same pace at 7.1% YoY to $34.32t (CNY233.8t).

Also read: China's shadow banking assets plunged to $393.40b in H1

With such a massive asset pool, Chinese banks are easily the world’s largest lenders, beating Western incumbents like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citi, and Japanese titans like Mizuho and Sumitomo for the prestigious title.