UPDATE 2-Lebanon's Bank Audi posts 1.9 pct rise in H1 net

* H1 net profit rises 1.9 pct to $132.9 mln

* CFO sees leading banks' '09 profit growth in double-digits

* Total assets grow by 10 pct from the end of 2008

* Deposits grow by 11.5 pct from the end of 2008

(Adds CFO comments)

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT, July 30 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Bank Audi (AUSR.BY) (AUDI.BY) said on Thursday its net profit climbed by 1.9 percent in the first half of the year to $132.9 million, compared with the same period of 2008.

Customer deposits grew by $2 billion in the half, compared to deposit growth of $3 billion for the whole of 2008.

Total assets stood at $22.43 billion at the end of the half, 10 percent higher than at the end of 2008, according to Bank Audi's unaudited results. Deposits stood at $19.22 billion, 11.5 percent higher than the end of the year.

"Showing profit, even at 2 percent growth, is a good performance when we know that regional and global banks are showing decreases in their profits or losses," Group Chief Financial Officer Freddie Baz told Reuters.

He said Lebanon's leading banks should register net income growth in double digits for the whole year. The second quarter of 2008 had been an exceptional year for the sector, he said. Bank Audi's first-quarter net profit growth this year was 11.6 percent.

Bank Audi, Lebanon's largest bank in terms of assets, registered net profit growth of 19 percent in 2008, mirroring a strong performance across the sector. Lebanese banks were largely insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis thanks in part to their conservative risk management.

Explaining the slower rate of profit growth for the first half, Baz said: "Being very liquid banks, operating in highly dollarised economy, maintaining a high liquidity in foreign currency, we couldn't avoid getting the hit in the drastic decrease in the U.S. reference rate."

Across the sector, Lebanese banks had registered deposit growth of around $8 billion in the first half, meaning annualised growth of $16 billion -- 45 percent higher than in 2008, Baz said. "Our spreads are shrinking but they are applied on a wider base of assets," he said.

Close to 30 percent of the sector's increased deposit base for the first half had come from non-residents, Baz said.

"It means that Lebanese banks are proving a higher foreign deposit attraction capacity," he said.

Bank Audi's performance had also been helped by efficiency savings, he said. "We have gained 3 percentage points in our cost-to-income in six months," he said.

Bank Audi shares fell in very thin trade on Thursday, closing 1.7 percent lower at $61.00. The BLOM index .BLSI fell 0.8 percent to 1,471.95 points.