BBVA Banco Frances posts lower 2nd-qtr net profit

BUENOS AIRES Aug 10 (Reuters) - BBVA Banco Frances (FRA.BA), the Argentine affiliate of Spanish bank BBVA(BBVA.MC), reported on Wednesday a second-quarter net profit of 197 million pesos ($46.1 million), versus a 203.4 million peso profit a year before.

The net profit was lower than market expectations. A Reuters poll of four analysts had put the bank's net profit at a median of 225 million pesos, with estimates ranging from 201 million to 251 million pesos.

BBVA Banco Frances is the sixth-most heavily weighted stock on Argentina's Merval .MERV benchmark index, accounting for 6.10 percent of it. ($1 = 4.2725 pesos on June 30) (Reporting by Jorge Otaola; Writing by Luis Andres Henao; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)