Chinese banks saw their total assets rise 17.7 percent to 131.27 trillion yuan ($20.9 trillion) at the end of 2012, said the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

The growth was slightly slower than the 18.3-percent growth rate recorded in 2011.

Banks' liabilities reached 122.63 trillion yuan ($19.7 trillion), up 17.5 percent, compared with an increase of 18 percent a year earlier.

Smaller lenders, including joint-stock commercial banks and city commercial banks, posted annual growth of more than 20 percent for both assets and liabilities, more than double the expansion rate of large lenders.

Large banks accounted for 44.1 percent of the banking industry's total assets and 44 percent of its total liabilities at the end of last year, both down from 46.6 percent a year earlier.

Five banks were categorized as large banks in the CBRC's calculations, namely the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank and the Bank of Communications.