BEIJING — Bank of China Ltd (BOC), the country's third-largest lender by market value, said its loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is expected to grow more than 10 percent this year.

"Bank of China attaches great importance to the financing of SMEs, and we have set up a special credit department to provide loans to them," Duan Zhonghui, assistant general manager of the financial center of the Bank of China told China Daily.

Related readings:  BOC loses out in bonds sales  Banks see 'controllable risk' in letters of guarantee in Libya  BOC to see double-digit loan growth  BOC to increase aircraft assets

By the end of 2010, more than 36,000 SMEs had received loans from the BOC, said Duan, projecting a total of 75 billion yuan in loans to SMEs in 2011.

The bank's loans to the SMEs have not been affected by the five hikes in the deposit reserve ratio this year, said Duan. Major banks in China now have to park 21 percent of their deposits at the central bank, which otherwise could be turned into loans to businesses.

The SMEs are enterprises with annual revenue below 300 million yuan ($45.7 million). Firms with revenues of less than 30 million yuan are considered small, according to standards set by the National Bureau of Statistics.