BEIJING, Dec. 20 -- Total assets of China's financial institutions had risen to 489.15 trillion yuan (about 68.03 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of the third quarter this year, according to data released by the country's central bank on Friday.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 8 percent, said the People's Bank of China.

Of the total, the assets of the banking sector reached 439.52 trillion yuan, up 7.3 percent year on year, while the assets of securities institutions rose 8.7 percent year on year to 14.64 trillion yuan.

The insurance sector's assets jumped 18.3 percent year on year to 35 trillion yuan, the data showed.

The liabilities of the financial institutions totaled 446.51 trillion yuan, up 8 percent year on year, according to central bank.