Increase seen in 2012 social financing

Growth of both total assets and liabilities of financial institutions in China's banking sector slowed in 2012 from the previous year, the country's banking regulator said Monday, indicating that companies were less dependent on banking credit when seeking financing.

Combined assets grew by 17.7 percent year-on-year in December to 131.3 trillion yuan ($21 trillion), down from the 18.3 percent growth recorded in December 2011, according to statistics released Monday by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

Total liabilities rose 17.5 percent year-on-year in December to 122.6 trillion yuan, down from 18 percent growth in December 2011, the statistics showed.

"Obviously, the slowdown of the economy in 2012 caused a decline in corporate financing during the year. The total assets and liabilities of these financial institutions that provide financing for companies declined accordingly," Zhao Xijun, deputy dean of the School of Finance at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times Monday.

"The decline also indicates that the structure of social financing changed in 2012 and that companies were less dependent on banking credit while seeking financing channels," Zhao said.