By Tom Perry

BEIRUT) - BLOM Bank , one of Lebanon's top two banks, said on Wednesday its net profit for the first nine months of the year climbed 34 percent to $198 million, driven by regional expansion.

BLOM Bank said in results sent to Reuters that its total assets stood at $17.8 billion at the end of September, 12 percent higher than a year ago, while customer deposits rose 14 percent to $15 billion.

"The results are coming from our growth in Lebanon and other countries that we've expanded in -- Egypt, Syria, Jordan," Chairman and General Manager Saad Azhari told Reuters.

"You can expect the last three months to be comparable to the first nine months," said Azhari, in reference to profit, asset and deposit growth. "We are expanding strongly in the nearby economies that are doing pretty well."

BLOM Bank would expand its branch network in Syria to 19 from 14 within the next two months and open seven more branches in Egypt, where BLOM Bank Egypt MRBK.CA already operates 23, in the next six to seven months, he said.

Azhari said BLOM Bank was also in the process of opening in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Lebanese bankers say the sector has been boosted by a record surge in deposits this year as expatriates seek to safeguard their savings by transferring them home to banks seen as shielded from the financial crisis.

They say the Lebanese sector has been protected from the global financial crisis by tight central bank regulation and conservative risk policies.

"The conservative policy of the bank is applied throughout the group," Azhari said. Asked about the economic outlook for the Middle East, he said: "The exposure in the Arab countries that we are present in is not that strong.

"Overall, I think they should witness less growth, but there will still be growth, and I don't think they will be hit by recession."

BLOM Bank shares traded at $79.90 on Wednesday, 0.2 percent lower than Tuesday's close, in low volumes. -Reuters