Paris - French banking giant BNP Paribas reported Tuesday a 6.6 per cent rise in its second-quarter profit despite higher costs to cover risk provisions.

The bank said its net surplus came to 1.6 billion euros (2.25 billion dollars).

The Paris-based institute said operating profits, unadjusted for risk provisions, weighed in at 4.1 billion euros, up 45 per cent from the second quarter of 2008.

The bank cited above all strong performance in its investment banking operations which accounted for almost half of the operating profit in the quarter.

But BNP Paribas also noted that its balance was affected by risk provisions to cover its loans. The provisions surged 200 per cent to 2.04 billion euros.(dpa)