China's postal bank reports 1 trillion yuan of outstanding microloans

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Postal Savings Bank of China, one of the country's state-owned banks, saw the outstanding amount of its microloans to small businesses stand at 1 trillion yuan (157.23 billion U.S. dollars) on Wednesday, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday.

The lender has handled more than 6 trillion yuan of microloans for about 50 million customers, and each of the loans stood at more than 100,000 yuan on average, said the report.

The lender has been boosting digital transformation to provide easier access to microloans for clients.

With about 40,000 outlets, the bank serves customers in the agriculture sector and rural areas, urban residents, and small businesses.

The bank was officially established in March 2007 based on the reform of the previous postal savings management system. In January 2012, it transformed into a joint-stock limited liability company.

The lender's shares climbed 0.76 percent to 5.28 yuan on the Shanghai bourse on Thursday.