* Net interest income dips, but profit up
* Overseas units profit up 31 percent
(Adds detail on foreign operations, ECB funding, provisions)
LISBON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Banco Espirito Santo, Portugal's second-largest listed bank, beat the market consensus with a 12 percent rise in nine-month net profit, helped by gains in its overseas division and higher commissions.
Net profit rose to 405 million euros ($566 million), even as net interest income fell 6 percent to 893 million, BES said on Tuesday. It provided no forward-looking statement.
BES was forecast to post net profit of 389 million euros and net interest income of 848 million, a Reuters poll found.
Net profit at the its foreign units rose 31 percent to 166 million euros. BES works in countries including Angola, Brazil, Britain, Mozambique, and Spain.
Commissions rose 17 percent to over 605 million euros, while trading gains rose 12 percent to 252 million.
BES said that despite having to rely on European Central Bank funds for liquidity during the third quarter, it managed to reduce its net debt position with the ECB to 4.3 billion euros from 6 billion in June.
The bank's net provisions, including for bad loans, fell 24 percent to 351 million euros. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Andrei Khalip; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7158 euro)