Banque Saudi Fransi's board has proposed a cash dividend of 0.45 riyals ($0.12) per share for the first half of 2014, the Credit Agricole affiliate said.

The proposed figure, announced in a Riyadh stock exchange filing, is above the 0.3 riyals per share which the bank paid for the corresponding period of 2013, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Fransi, Saudi Arabia's fourth-largest listed lender by assets, reported on Monday an estimate-beating 16 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit it attributed to higher operating income.-Reuters