LGT stops client money exodus, H1 profit up 6.4 pct

* H1 net new money 1.1 bln Sfr vs -1.6 bln in H1 2009

* Sees further client money inflows in H2 2010

* Net profit 99.6 mln Sfr vs year-earlier 93.6 mln * AuM 86.8 bln Sfr vs 89.0 bln end-2009

* Tier 1 ratio 19.3 pct vs 18.5 pct end-2009

ZURICH, Aug 25 (Reuters) - LGT said it attracted new client money in the six months to June 30 for the first time in two years as the aftershocks of a tax scandal that rocked Liechtenstein's largest bank in 2008 subsided.

First-half net profit rose 6.4 percent year on year to 99.6 million Swiss francs ($95.40 million) as cost cuts and higher returns from commission, fees and trading income more than compensated for low interest rates eating into fixed income returns, the unlisted wealth manager said on Wednesday.

The bank, owned by the Alpine principality's ruling family, attracted 1.1 billion Swiss francs of new client money, mainly to its asset management and foreign operations, particularly in Asia, as some money continued to leak from its Liechtenstein home base, said LGT spokesman Christof Buri.

In 2009, clients pulled 3.7 billion francs from LGT, which last had net new money inflows -- measuring 300 million francs -- in the first half of 2008, Buri said.

LGT caught headlines in 2008 after data from a stolen disk led to a German tax probe into the bank, prompting Liechtenstein, a financial centre wedged between Switzerland and Austria, to ease its strict bank secrecy the following year to avoid further international attacks on tax havens.

The bank was last month reported to be nearing a deal to end the German investigation. [ID:nLDE66G057]

"We are particularly pleased that we have turned the corner in the performance of net new money. We expect the inflows to continue in the second half of the year," said LGT Chief Executive Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein.

Falling asset values and currency losses knocked 2.2 billion francs off assets under management in the first half to 86.8 billion francs, LGT said.

The bank's Tier 1 ratio -- a measure of a bank's financial strength -- rose from a solid 18.5 percent at the end of 2009 to an even healthier 19.3 percent. ($1=1.044 Swiss Franc) (Reporting by Jason Rhodes; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)