Assets managed by Chinese banks top $2t

China's banking industry has seen a boom in its managed assets following the fast expansion of banks' asset custody business, the China Banking Association said Thursday.

Assets under the management of Chinese banks reached a record 14.15 trillion yuan ($2.25 trillion) by the end of 2011, an increase of 49.27 percent from a year earlier, according to a report released by the association.

The figure marked a jump of 277 percent from 3.75 trillion yuan in 2009, the report said.

First in the form of a closed-end securities investment fund established in 1998, the asset custody service has become a fast-growing banking business that covers extensive domains, the report said.

In the asset custody business, banks serve as the third party to take care of the entrusted assets and perform various duties, including account settlement, asset evaluation and investment oversight, according to trust contracts and regulations.

The assets of five custody products currently exceed 2 trillion yuan each. Wealth investment products take the biggest share, valued at 3.89 trillion yuan, followed by entrusted insurance funds (2.65 trillion yuan) and entrusted property (2.31 trillion yuan).

By the end of 2011, 18 Chinese commercial banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, obtained the qualifications necessary to run such businesses.

Their custodians' fees totaled 16.8 billion yuan as of the end of 2011.