DUBAI, July 27 (Reuters) - First Gulf Bank , the third-largest lender by assets in the United Arab Emirates, broadly met estimates on Wednesday as it posted a 10 percent fall in second-quarter net profit.

FGB, which earlier this month announced it had provisionally agreed to merge with rival National Bank of Abu Dhabi, made a net profit of 1.31 billion dirhams ($356.7 million) in the three months ending June 30, it said in an emailed statement.

This compared to 1.45 billion dirhams in the same period a year earlier, while the average forecast of four analysts polled by Reuters was for a net profit in the quarter of 1.35 billion dirhams.

Merging NBAD and FGB, as recommended by the boards of the two lenders, would create one of the largest banks by assets in the Middle East and Africa. The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017. ($1 = 3.6726 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by David French) ((Tom.Arnold@thomsonreuters.com; +97144536265; Reuters Messaging: tom.arnold.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))