RIYADH, 12 October 2005 — Banque Saudi Fransi’s (BSF’s) third quarter net profit rose 51 percent to SR603 million ($161 million) compared to the same period last year, the bank said yesterday. It said nine-month net profit was 38 percent higher than last year at SR1.608 billion. Chairman Ibrahim Al-Touq said in a statement that the results, which were in line with profits reported by other banks in the world’s biggest oil exporter, were achieved “through expanding banking products and improving efficiency across all business lines of the bank”. Banque Saudi Fransi’s nine-month operating income rose 33 percent to SR2.24 billion, total assets grew by 24 percent to SR69.4 billion and the bank’s loans and advances portfolio was up 33 percent at SR43.1 billion, it said. Customer deposits grew 13 percent to SR49.3 billion.