UPDATE 1-BCP 1st half net slumps 67 pct to 101 mln euros

(Adds details, quotes, BCP not looking to sell assets)

LISBON, July 22 (Reuters) - Millennium bcp (BCP.LS), Portugal's largest listed bank, reported on Tuesday first-half net profit of 101 million euros, less than a third of its year-ago net, hit by a loss on its stake in Banco BPI (BBPI.LS).

The 67 percent drop, which also includes net trading losses, was largely in line with analysts' expectations.

Excluding the provision for the depreciation of BCP's 10 percent stake in BPI and other specific items, net earnings totalled 265 million euros, BCP said in a statement .

Net interest income was 9.5 percent higher at 841.9 million euros. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted, on average, net profit of 99 million euros and net interest income of 849 million euros for the first six months of 2008.

The rise was sustained by higher rates applied on credit and strong performance of the bank's foreign operations, notably Polish subsidiary Millennium BIGW.WA, whose credit portfolio jumped 34 percent since the start of the year.

BCP said net income from international operations rose 19 percent, excluding costs of a new project in Romania.

The interest income gain was partially offset by a net trading loss of 114.2 million euros.

The bank did not provide second-quarter results. In the first quarter, BCP netted 15 million euros as the earnings were weighed down by a BPI-related writedown of over 130 million.

BPI stocks fell about 50 percent between January and June. Some analysts believe that a global drop in the financial sector may force the bank to sell some assets, including the BPI stake, which has lost its strategic value after a failed bid in 2007.

But BCP Chief Executive Officer Carlos Santos Ferreira told a news conference the bank is not looking for a buyer for the BPI stake and is "not under any pressure" to sell any assets as it is satisfied with all its banking operations.

He also said that although the banking sector was affected by the global financial turmoil, BCP was not exposed to the subprime sector's crisis and Portugal had no housing bubble to affect its lenders as happened in many other countries.

Operating costs in Portugal remained steady, BCP said. Total loans to customers rose 13 percent to around 73.7 billion euros, with rises both in Portugal and abroad. Credit quality was stable compared to June 2007, with the share of loans overdue by over 90 days at 0.8 percent of total loans.

BCP shares closed 4.18 percent lower at 1.145 euros before the results were announced. The drop was in line with a slide in Europe's banking shares. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip and Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Paul Bolding)