BEIJING -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest bank, said Wednesday that the balance of its lending to small businesses surged 53.5 billion yuan ($8.24 billion) in the first quarter of 2011.

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This amount accounted for 35.7 percent of the bank's total loan balance in the first three months, hitting a record high, the bank said.

Further, the lender's credit to small businesses rose 11.6 percent in the first quarter, 8.2 percentage points higher than the average growth in all sectors, in an attempt to support small businesses, the bank said.

ICBC said it has worked to ensure lending to small businesses to bolster their development, even though the government is tightening the overall money supply.