In this undated photo, pedestrians walk past a Bank of China branch in Shanghai. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China's listed banks saw their bad loan ratio decline in 2021 amid enhanced efforts to fend off financial risks.

All six state-owned commercial banks reported a decrease in their non-performing loan ratio at the end of 2021 from a year ago. The figures all fall within 1.5 percent, with the lowest at 0.82 percent recorded by the Postal Savings Bank of China.

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Two listed joint-stock banks, China Citic Bank and China Everbright Bank, posted a decline in both the outstanding value and ratio of their non-performing loans

Two listed joint-stock banks, China Citic Bank and China Everbright Bank, posted a decline in both the outstanding value and ratio of their non-performing loans.

The improving asset quality can be attributed to efforts to optimize asset structure and tackle residual risks, said Fang Heying, president of China Citic Bank.

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To manage risks in a forward-looking manner, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China disposed of 190 billion yuan (about 30 $billion) of bad loans, while the Bank of China defused potential risks on assets worth around 100 billion yuan in 2021.

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The provision coverage ratio of the ICBC topped 200 percent for the first time in seven years, and that of the Agricultural Bank of China rose 33.53 percentage points from a year ago to 299.73 percent at the end of 2021.