BEIJING -- Outstanding non-performing loans increased but the NPL ratio declined in Chinese banks last year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission reported Wednesday.

The NPL ratio stood at 1.56 percent at the end of 2012, down 0.22 percentage point year-on-year, the CBRC said.

Meanwhile, outstanding NPLs increased by 23.4 billion yuan ($3.79 billion) to 1.07 trillion yuan from the beginning of 2012.

Analysts attributed the increase in the NPL to slower economic expansion.

The total assets of Chinese banks and financial institutions reached 133.6 trillion yuan in 2012, up 17.9 percent from a year earlier, while liabilities rose 17.8 percent year on year to 125 trillion yuan, the banking regulator stated.

The CBRC urged the banking industry to maintain safe and stable operations by improving financial services in 2013 with higher efficiency and fewer weak sectors, as well as offering abundant support for the recent quake relief in southwest Sichuan province.

The Chinese economy saw its weakest performance since 1999 last year, as full-year annual growth eased to 7.8 percent.