Chart of the Day: China’s Leviathan Lenders

China’s banking sector is the world’s largest. As of the end of July 2018, the country’s banks held 254.3 trillion yuan ($37.3 trillion) in assets and 233.8 trillion yuan in liabilities. By comparison, the entire U.S. banking sector held less than half this amount, about $16.8 trillion in assets, (seasonally adjusted) at the end of July.

Growth in both assets and liabilities has been slowing since the end of 2016. Year-on-year asset growth was 7.45% at the end of July, down from 11.26% a year earlier and 16.52% at the end of 2016.

Contact reporter Ke Baili (bailike@caixin.com)