BEIJING, Feb. 21 -- China's commercial banks reported a profit growth of 3.2 percent in 2023, data from the banking regulator showed on Wednesday.

Net profits of commercial lenders hit 2.4 trillion yuan (about 338 billion U.S. dollars), according to the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

The capital adequacy ratio of the lenders (excluding foreign bank branches) was 15.06 percent at the end of December last year, an increase of 0.29 percentage points from the previous quarter ending September of the same year.

The non-performing loan ratio of commercial banks stood at 1.59 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, down 0.02 percentage points from the end of September.

The data also showed the total assets of China's banking industry reached 417.3 trillion yuan by the end of last year, up 9.9 percent year on year.