National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia's biggest bank by assets, posted a 3.4 per cent rise in its second-quarter net profit.

Based on Reuters calculations, the unlisted lender made a net profit of SR1.23 billion in the three months to end-June against SR1.19 billion it had reported for the year-earlier period.

State-owned NCB, which is slated for privatisation, on Sunday said it made a net profit of SR2.64 billion ($704 million) in the six months to end-June, 2010, an increase of 18 per cent over the year-earlier period.

Net lending income rose 3.8 percent, while banking fees - which include brokerage commissions and foreign exchange - gained 1.2 per cent, the bank said, without giving comparable figures.-Reuters