BEIJING - Chinese banks have become more socially responsible and provided more support to small companies and the agricultural sector in 2011, according to a report issued Tuesday.

Outstanding loans of Chinese financial institutions rose 15.7 percent year on year to 54.8 trillion yuan ($8.7 trillion) by the end of 2011, according to a China Banking Association report on the social responsibility of the Chinese banking industry in 2011.

Chinese lenders issued 363.4 billion yuan in loans to emerging industries last year, up 36.5 percent from one year earlier. Agricultural loans increased 24.9 percent year on year to reach 14.6 trillion yuan, according to the report.

By the end of December, financial institutions had extended 10.8 trillion yuan in loans to small enterprises, accounting for 19.6 percent of the total outstanding loans.

Meanwhile, the report showed that loans for energy-saving and environmental protection projects climbed 25.24 percent in 2011.

The banking sector also donated 970 million yuan toward charitable work and spent 277 million yuan on poverty reduction efforts, the report said.

Yan Qingmin, assistant chairman at the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said the commission will continue to urge the banking sector to better serve the real economy, meet increasing demands for varied financial services and fully fulfill its social responsibilities.