BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Lebanon's Blom Bank SAL (BLBD.LE), one of the country's two largest lenders, said Monday that its first-quarter net profit rose 2.5% from a year earlier to $84.12 million despite additional provisions of $20 million. "These results commend the bank's performance amid operating conditions characterized by political upheavals in the region, and by debt crises and economic slowdown at the global level," the lender, whose major shareholder is Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK), said in a statement. The bank's total assets stood at $23.8 billion at the end of March, up 4.3% from a year earlier, according to the statement. Deposits rose 4% to $20.7 billion while lending increased 5.5% to $5.7 billion. The bank's shares ended up 0.8% Monday at $7.81 in an overall higher market. -By Shikrallah Nakhoul, Zawya Dow Jones; +961 1 985757; shikrallah@zawya.com Order free Annual Report for The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Visit http://djnweurope.ar.wilink.com/?ticker=US0640581007 or call +44 (0)208 391 6028
