Financial operations went smoothly in January in China with loan growth remaining steady and residents' deposits rising, the People's Bank of China reported on Thursday.

In January, the outstanding value of all renminbi loans of financial institutions hit 26.97 trillion yuan ($3.75 trillion), up 16.74 percent compared with the same period last year.

The growth was 0.64 percentage points higher than at the end of last year, the central bank said in a statement.

Outstanding renminbi deposits among the country's financial institutions reached 39.16 trillion yuan in January, up 15.12 percent in comparison to the same period last year.

The growth was 0.95 percentage points lower than that of 2007, the central bank said. It added residents' deposits increased 168.4 billion yuan in January.