BEIJING - Most of China's financial banking institutions are safe from risks as of the fourth quarter last year, according to the central bank.

Most of the 4,399 banking financial institutions ranked by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), including 24 large banks, 3,999 medium and small banks, and 376 non-banking institutions, were within safe boundaries, whose assets account for 98 percent of the total, the central bank said.

Large banks and foreign and privately-owned medium and small banks posted good ranking results in the reporting period, while rural cooperative institutions and village banks witnessed relatively higher risks.

The PBOC ordered financial institutions to enhance risk control and shared the ranking results with local governments to help monitor and fend off risks, the central bank said.

The PBOC said it is also working to provide the ranking results to China's securities regulator and local governments as a reference for significant matters of the financial institutions. These include public listings and capital increases, as well as local fiscal-fund bidding management.