The balance of domestic and foreign currency deposits in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province, hit 1.204958 trillion yuan ($185.38 billion) at the end of 2021, up 13.35 year-on-year, according to official data.

Meanwhile, the balance of domestic and foreign currency loans in the city amounted to 1.166997 trillion yuan by the end of last year, up 18.21 percent year-on-year.

The growth rate outpaced that of the city's gross domestic product (GDP) over the past year.

The increase in both the balance of loans and deposits indicates that the city's financial system played an active role in economic recovery that year.

Bao Dahui, deputy head of the Taizhou branch of the People's Bank of China, said the bank launched a campaign in 2021 to bolster the development of the real economy by lowering financing costs.

The average interest rate on loans in Taizhou stood at 6.15 percent, a decrease of 18 basis points year-on-year, while that on inclusive small and micro loans was 6.54 percent, down by 33 basis points, official statistics show.

Last year, the number of micro and small-sized enterprises in the city that applied for loans for the first time ranked second in Zhejiang.