BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's banking regulator has punished 1,171 institutions for financial irregularities in the first eight months of 2017, with fines totalling 552 million yuan (about 83.1 million U.S. dollars).

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) also held 899 people accountable, issuing them fines of 18.5 million yuan during the period.

Aside from the tough stance on market disorders, more efforts are required to foster a long-term mechanism to reform the banking sector, CBRC official Xiao Yuanqi said.

China's rapidly expanding financial industry is being placed under greater regulatory scrutiny as authorities step up efforts to curb widespread misconduct in the sector.

Authorities have repeatedly pointed out that the country's financial sector was vulnerable to risks such as bad assets, bond defaults, shadow banking and Internet financing, with frequent illegal and corrupt activities occurring.

Official data showed the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at Chinese commercial banks stood at 1.86 percent at the end of August, with total assets reaching 239 trillion yuan.

KEY WORDS:banks