RIYADH, (Reuters) – Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest bank by market value, posted a 1.9 percent drop in second quarter net profit due mainly to lower lending income.

Quarterly net profit came in at 1.22 billion riyals ($325.3 million) after 1.24 billion riyals in the same period a year ago, the bank said in a statement on the bourse website.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters were expecting Samba to make on average 1.18 billion riyals.

Net lending income fell 7.8 percent to 1.2 billion riyals after the loans portfolio shrank by 5.7 percent to 83 billion riyals by end-June while they were down by 5.5 percent at 85 billion riyals by end-March, 2010.

Net income from non-lending operations — such as brokerage and foreign exchange — rose 10.4 percent to 570 million riyals, according to Reuters calculations.

Earnings per share stood at 2.70 riyals for the six months to end-June down from 2.79 riyals a year earlier.