Riyadh – Mubasher: Total assets of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) grew 3.4% year-on-year in September, registering SAR 1.942 trillion ($518 billion), versus SAR 1.878 trillion ($500.9 billion).

The growth of the Saudi central bank’s assets was attributed to a 28% increase in banks’ overseas deposits, recording SAR 433.197 billion in September, compared to SAR 338.433 billion in the same month a year earlier.

Month-on-month, SAMA’s assets dropped 0.5% in September, against SAR 1.952 trillion ($521 billion) in August, the Saudi central bank said in a report on Sunday.

Investments in foreign securities declined 1.76% to SAR 1.21 trillion last month, versus SAR 1.23 trillion in the prior-year, the report said.