As at 31 December 2018, the Group’s total liabilities were RMB21.23 trillion, an increase of RMB902,543 million or 4.44% over 2017. In this amount, deposits from customers amounted to RMB17.11 trillion, up by RMB744,924 million or 4.55% over 2017. Taking into consideration the inclusion of accrued interest, the actual increase was RMB567,675 million or 3.47%. Deposits and placements from banks and non-bank financial institutions increased by RMB127,063 million or 7.38% over 2017 to RMB1,847,697 million. Debt securities issued were RMB775,785 million, an increase of RMB179,259 million or 30.05% over 2017, mainly due to issuance of 2 batches of Tier 2 capital bonds totalling RMB83 billion. Borrowings from central banks were RMB554,392 million, an increase of 1.30% over 2017. Accordingly, in the Group’s total liabilities, deposits from customers accounted for 80.58% of total liabilities, an increase of 0.08 percentage points over 2017. Deposits and placements from banks and non-bank financial institutions accounted for 8.70% of total liabilities, an increase of 0.24 percentage points over 2017. Debt securities issued accounted for 3.66% of total liabilities, an increase of 0.73 percentage points over 2017. Borrowings from central banks accounted for 2.61% of total liabilities, a decrease of 0.08 percentage points from 2017.

# Deposits from customers

The following table sets forth the Group’s deposits from customers by product type as at the dates indicated.

<table><tr><td rowspan="2">(In millions of RMB, except percentages)</td><td colspan="2">31 December 2018</td><td colspan="2">31 December 2017</td><td colspan="2">31 December 2016</td></tr><tr><td>Amount</td><td>% of total</td><td>Amount</td><td>% of total</td><td>Amount</td><td>% of total</td></tr><tr><td>Corporate deposits</td><td>8,667,322</td><td>50.66</td><td>8,700,872</td><td>53.17</td><td>8,008,460</td><td>51.99</td></tr><tr><td>Demand deposits</td><td>5,854,542</td><td>34.22</td><td>5,723,939</td><td>34.98</td><td>5,145,626</td><td>33.41</td></tr><tr><td>Time deposits</td><td>2,812,780</td><td>16.44</td><td>2,976,933</td><td>18.19</td><td>2,862,834</td><td>18.58</td></tr><tr><td>Personal deposits</td><td>7,771,165</td><td>45.42</td><td>7,105,813</td><td>43.43</td><td>6,927,182</td><td>44.98</td></tr><tr><td>Demand deposits</td><td>3,271,246</td><td>19.12</td><td>3,169,395</td><td>19.37</td><td>2,986,109</td><td>19.39</td></tr><tr><td>Time deposits</td><td>4,499,919</td><td>26.30</td><td>3,936,418</td><td>24.06</td><td>3,941,073</td><td>25.59</td></tr><tr><td>Overseas operations and subsidiaries</td><td>492,942</td><td>2.88</td><td>557,069</td><td>3.40</td><td>467,273</td><td>3.03</td></tr><tr><td>Accrued interest</td><td>177,249</td><td>1.04</td><td>N/A</td><td>N/A</td><td>N/A</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Total deposits from customers</td><td>17,108,678</td><td>100.00</td><td>16,363,754</td><td>100.00</td><td>15,402,915</td><td>100.00</td></tr></table>

As at 31 December 2018, domestic corporate deposits of the Bank were RMB8,667,322 million, a decrease of 0.39% from 2017, mainly due to the decrease in corporate time deposits as a result of centralised deposits of third-party payment platforms’ settlement reserve funds with the PBC. Domestic personal deposits of the Bank were RMB7,771,165 million, an increase of RMB665,352 million or 9.36% over 2017, and accounted for 47.27% of domestic deposits from customers, up by 2.32 percentage points over 2017. Deposits from overseas operations and subsidiaries amounted to RMB492,942 million, a decrease of RMB64,127 million, and accounted for 2.88% of the total deposits from customers. The Bank’s domestic demand deposits were RMB9,125,788 million, up by RMB232,454 million or 2.61% over 2017, and accounted for 55.51% of the domestic deposits from customers. The time deposits were RMB7,312,699 million, up by RMB399,348 million or 5.78% over 2017, and accounted for 44.49% of domestic deposits from customers, up by 0.75 percentage points over 2017.

# Debt securities issued

The Bank issued no corporate debt securities that were required to be disclosed in accordance with Standards for the Contents and Formats of Information Disclosure by Companies Offering Securities to the Public No. 2 – Contents and Formats of Annual Reports (2017 Revision) and Standards for the Contents and Formats of Information Disclosure by Companies Offering Securities to the Public No. 38 – Contents and Formats of Annual Reports on Corporate Debt Securities. Please refer to Note “Debt securities issued” in the financial statements for details.

# Shareholder’s equity

The following table sets forth the Group’s total equity and its composition as at the dates indicated.

<table><tr><td>(In millions of RMB)</td><td>As at 31 December 2018</td><td>As at 31 December 2017</td></tr><tr><td>Share capital</td><td>250,011</td><td>250,011</td></tr><tr><td>Other equity instruments – preference shares</td><td>79,636</td><td>79,636</td></tr><tr><td>Capital reserve</td><td>134,537</td><td>135,225</td></tr><tr><td>Investment revaluation reserve</td><td>N/A</td><td>(26,004)</td></tr><tr><td>Other comprehensive income</td><td>18,451</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Surplus reserve</td><td>223,231</td><td>198,613</td></tr><tr><td>General reserve</td><td>279,725</td><td>259,680</td></tr><tr><td>Retained earnings</td><td>990,872</td><td>886,921</td></tr><tr><td>Exchange reserve</td><td>N/A</td><td>(4,322)</td></tr><tr><td>Total equity attributable to equity shareholders of the Bank</td><td>1,976,463</td><td>1,779,760</td></tr><tr><td>Non-controlling interests</td><td>15,131</td><td>16,067</td></tr><tr><td>Total equity</td><td>1,991,594</td><td>1,795,827</td></tr></table>

As at 31 December 2018, the Group’s equity was RMB1,991,594 million, an increase of RMB195,767 million or 10.90% over 2017, primarily driven by the increase of RMB103,951 million in retained earnings. Taking into consideration the adjustments made at the beginning of the period in accordance with requirements of the new financial instruments standard, the actual increase was RMB215,218 million or 12.12%. As the growth rate of total equity surpassed that of assets, the ratio of total equity to total assets for the Group reached 8.58%, an increase of 0.46 percentage points over 2017.

# Off-balance sheet items

The Group’s off-balance sheet items include derivatives, commitments and contingent liabilities. Derivatives include interest rate contracts, exchange rate contracts, precious metal contracts, etc. Please refer to Note “Derivatives and Hedge Accounting” in the financial statements of this annual report for details on the nominal amounts and fair value of derivatives. Commitments and contingent liabilities include credit commitments, operating lease commitments, capital commitments, underwriting obligations, redemption obligations, and outstanding litigation and disputes. Among these, credit commitments were the largest component, including undrawn loan facilities which are approved and contracted, unused credit card limits, financial guarantees, and letters of credit. As at 31 December 2018, credit commitments balance was RMB2,848,724 million, a decrease of RMB180,448 million or 5.96% from 2017. Please refer to Note “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities” in the financial statements in this annual report for details on commitments and contingent liabilities.

# Analysis on Cash Flow Statements

# Cash from operating activities

Net cash received from operating activities was RMB615,831 million, an increase of RMB536,741 million over 2017, mainly because the net growth of loans and advances to customers saw a decrease from 2017, and the deposits with central banks, banks and non-bank financial institutions decreased more over 2017 as affected by reserve ratio cuts.

# Cash used in investing activities

Net cash used in investing activities was RMB369,779 million, an increase of RMB272,323 million over 2017, mainly because of the decrease in cash inflows from investing activities due to less proceeds from sale and redemption of investments.

# Cash from financing activities

Net cash from financing activities was RMB28,921 million, an increase of RMB20,129 million over 2017, mainly driven by the increase of proceeds from the issuance of bonds.