RIYADH: Saudi commercial banks’ credit to the private sector rose by SR264 billion ($70.4 billion) in month to SR2.1 trillion at the end of February, Saudi Central Bank data showed. This marks a 14.5-percent increase when compared to the previous year. On a month-on-month basis, the increase was 1.7 percent as the private sector raised SR35.7 billion ($9.5 billion) in February. Additionally, financing provided by banks to government and quasi-government institutions in February was SR8.8 billion, which translates to a monthly growth of 1.6 percent. The total amount of such credit reached SR568 billion at the end of February . Saudi banks" total assets rose to SR3.3 trillion in February, having grown by SR64.2 billion compared to the previous month. Total assets grew by 2 percent from SR3.23 trillion in January. On a year-on-year basis, total assets grew 9.7 percent, rising by SR291 billion, Saudi Central Bank data revealed.