BEIJING - The total domestic assets of China's financial institutions in the banking sector hit a record high of 105.71 trillion yuan ($16.67 trillion) at the end of September, up 16.6 percent year-on-year, the nation's banking regulator said Tuesday.

Their combined liabilities totaled 98.96 trillion yuan at the end of September, a year-on-year increase of 16.1 percent, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said.

According to preliminary statistics, domestic assets of the country's large-scale commercial banks climbed 12.2 percent from one year earlier to 50.50 trillion yuan, while their liabilities grew 11.7 percent year-on-year to 47.32 trillion yuan, the commission said.

Financial institutions in the banking sector refer to commercial banks, deposit-taking urban- and rural-credit cooperatives, and policy banks in China.