BEIJING, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's inclusive finance developed rapidly last year, the People's Bank of China said Monday.

The loan balance of the inclusive finance sector stood at 13.39 trillion yuan (1.99 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2018, up 13.8 percent year on year.

Inclusive finance covers financial services offered by financial institutions to micro-businesses, farmers, those on low-incomes, the disabled and senior citizens.

Bucking the trend, loans to China's property sector expanded at a slower pace due to strict purchase rules and ongoing financial deleveraging.

Outstanding property loans amounted to 38.7 trillion yuan at the end of last year, up 20 percent year on year. The growth rate was 0.9 percentage points lower than the end of 2017.

Individual property mortgages jumped 17.8 percent year-on-year to 25.75 trillion yuan at the end of 2018, a slowdown from the 22.2-percent increase one year earlier.

The credit structure of China's financial institutions continued to improve last year, said Lian Ping, chief economist at the Bank of Communications, adding that he expects the financial industry to better support the real economy this year.