China's financial institutions report 8.5 pct growth in total assets

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Total assets of China's financial institutions rose to 476.49 trillion yuan (about 66.93 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of March this year, according to data released by the country's central bank on Thursday.

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent, said the People's Bank of China.

Of the total, the assets of the banking sector reached 429.58 trill