SHANGHAI, Feb. 18 -- The balance of loans in the Yangtze River Delta region was 56.73 trillion yuan (8.37 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of December 2022, up 13.2 percent year on year.

The balance of loans in Chinese yuan reached 55.56 trillion yuan at the end of December, up 13.8 percent year on year, according to the People's Bank of China Shanghai Head Office.

The balance of foreign currency loans was 167.6 billion U.S. dollars at the end of December, down 15 percent year on year.

The balance of the region's deposits stood at 68.25 trillion yuan at the end of December -- up 12 percent compared to the previous year.

Shanghai and the three provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui fall within the ambit of the Yangtze River Delta region.