BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China's banking sector continued to expand, with assets and liabilities growing in February, official data showed.

The country's banking institutions held 266 trillion yuan (about 39.6 trillion U.S. dollars) in onshore assets by the end of February, up 7.1 percent year on year, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The growth was faster than the 6.9-percent year-on-year increase recorded at the end of January.

The banking institutions' onshore liabilities rose 6.7 percent to 244 trillion yuan, according to the regulator.

The combined onshore assets of commercial banks came in at 217.9 trillion yuan, up 8.1 percent, while their liabilities increased 7.7 percent to 200.6 trillion yuan.

City-based commercial banks recorded 35 trillion yuan in total onshore assets by the end of February, up 9.9 percent year on year. Rural financial institutions saw their assets expand 7.1 percent to 36 trillion yuan.