The figures released on Wednesday are lower than those of the government's National Financial Supervisory Commission, which said on Monday non-performing loans were 2.9 percent of credit by the end of 2015, down from 3.7 percent a year earlier.
The fragmented sector has undergone major reform in the past few years, with stricter lending and debt classification, forced takeovers, numerous fraud investigations and the formation of a state-run asset management company to support commercial banks.
Loan growth has recovered and is forecast by the central bank to reach a six-year high of 18-20 percent this year, from 18 percent in 2015.