China's commercial banks had an overall non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 5.49 percent at the end of September, down 0.67 percentage point from the beginning of this year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said.

Non-performing loans of commercial banks totaled 1.27 trillion yuan ($186 billion) at the end of September, a decrease of 3.02 billion yuan since the start of the year, said the regulator in a statement.

The NPL ratio of major commercial banks -- five State-owned and 12 joint-stock banks -- stood at 6.01 percent at the end of September, down by 0.71 percentage point from the beginning of the year.

This category includes the "big four" state-controlled banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China -- and joint-stock lenders like China CITIC Bank, China Merchants Bank and Shenzhen Development Bank.

The NPL ratio of city commercial banks fell by 0.5 percentage points from the beginning of the year to 2.54 percent at end-September, while the ratio for foreign banks operating in China rose by 0.5 percentage points to 0.5 percent.

Total assets of China's banking institutions stood at 59.3 trillion yuan at the end of September, up 17.2 percent year-on-year, while liabilities totaled 55.8 trillion yuan, up 16.6 percent year-on-year.