BEIJING - Chinese commercial banks' balance and ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) fell remarkably under the industry's risk control drive, the banking regulator said Wednesday.

The balance and ratio of Chinese major commercial banks' NPLs stood at 364.6 billion yuan ($55.5 billion) and 1.15 percent, respectively, by the end of 2010, marking a sharp contrast from the 2002 level of 2.28 trillion yuan and 23.61 percent, said Liu Mingkang, head of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the banking regulator.

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Liu said risk control awareness has been integrated into the banks' strategic planning and daily operations thanks to the guidance of the CBRC, according to a statement posted on CBRC website.

Provision coverage ratio (PCR), the ratio of provisioning to gross non-performing assets which indicates the extent of funds a bank has kept aside to cover loan losses, increased to 218.25 percent by the end of 2010 from 6.7 percent in 2002.

The total value of Chinese banks' assets more than tripled from that of 2003 to hit 95.3 trillion yuan by the end of last year while net profit was 28 times the 2003 level, said Liu.