The outstanding loans in RMB stood at 22.31 trillion yuan (2.85 trillion U.S. dollars) as at the end of November, said the report released by the People's Bank of China on Thursday.

Central bank figures show that new RMB loans in November were 193.5 billion yuan, 31.5 billion yuan less than the previous month.

The soaring growth of loans has been reined in, said the report.

But the country's total new loans in 2006 will still be the highest since 2003. Chinese banks lent 2.97 trillion yuan in the first 11 months, far above the government's target of 2.5 trillion yuan.

The central bank has raised the deposit reserve ratio three times this year to encourage commercial banks to save more money in the central bank. It has also raised the interest rate of loans twice.