Beijing, Jun 9 (IANS): Total assets of China's banking sector rose 19.1 percent year-on-year to 105.8 trillion yuan ($16.8 trillion) by the end of 2011, according to a report released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank.

The number of business outlets of financial institutes totalled 200,000 as of the end of 2011 and the sector's workforce added 111,000 people from a year earlier to reach 3.19 million, said the report on the country's regional financial operation in 2011.

Financial institutes in China's eastern parts accounted for 60.2 percent of the sector's total assets, said the report released Friday.

In terms of asset growth, the western regions expanded most in 2011 at a rate of 21.8 percent, followed by 20.4 percent in the east, 18.6 percent in the northeast, and 17.5 percent in the middle, reported Xinhua.

Also, due to growing public awareness to asset management and the creation of more financial products, deposits growth continued to slow, with the expanding rate in the east, middle, west and northeast areas pulling back 3.7, 1.1, 1.6, and 0.3 percentage points, respectively.