(Yicai Global) Aug. 6 -- The assets of China's large state-owned banks Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Bank of Communications make up 37 percent of the sector's tally, with private capital holding over 3, 000 institutions.

The sector's low concentration has kept it at a rational level, statistics China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission released yesterday show.

The assets of the five big Chinese state banks totaled CNY105 trillion (USD15 trillion) as of the end of last year, and they employed about 1.7 million, or 40 percent of the banking sector's workforce.

By last year's end, China boasted 4, 588 financial organizations, which are divided into more than 20 categories within the sector, including large banks, joint-stock commercial banks, foreign-invested ones and various private banks and small-and medium-sized ones.

The proportion of private funds in the total share capital of joint-stock banks, city commercial banks and rural cooperative financial institutions reached more than 40, 50 and 80 percent, respectively. Some 17 privately-owned banks have already gained approval to open and operate since 2014.

The tally of domestic outlets (network) of financial institutions in the banking sector is 221,000, and five large state-owned banks hold 68, 000 of them, making up 31 percent. They are extensively located in both urban and rural areas.

Editor: Ben Armour