DUBAI: Saudi National Bank (SNB) , the kingdom’s largest lender, said on Wednesday its net profit almost doubled in the second quarter due to higher operating income and lower expenses, which include impairment charges.

The Saudi lender’s net profit for the three months to June 30 was 4.59 billion riyals ($1.22 billion), compared with 2.32 billion riyals in the year-earlier period.

SNB said operating income rose by 10.3%, mostly due to higher net special commission and fees from banking services.

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Expenses were down by 36.5%, mainly due to lower rent and premises-related expenses. Expenses also include impairments, which were also down due to lower provisions on credit losses.