LHASA -- A record 15 financial institutions had opened offices in Tibet autonomous region, Southwest China, by the end of 2016, the region's banking regulatory commission said Friday.

According to official data, the 15 institutions' total assets balance was 523.3 billion yuan ($75.9 billion), a year-on-year increase of 29.2 percent.

Policy banks, state-owned commercial banks, national and local joint-stock commercial banks, rural financial institutions and non-banking financial institutions including trusts and rental businesses have opened 688 branches in urban and rural areas in the region with over 9,000 employees, said Li Mingxiao, director of the commission.

Local and foreign currency loans exceeded 300 billion yuan by the end of last year, up 43.5 percent year on year, half of which were granted to small and micro businesses as well as the agricultural sector, which greatly promoted the economic and social development in Tibet.