* Net interest income up 15 pct

* Provision for loan losses drop 41 pct July 21 (Reuters) - First Midwest Bancorp Inc (FMBI.O) posted a higher second-quarter profit, backed by lower expenses and a drop in provision for bad loans, but missed Wall Street view by a cent.

Net income available to common shares rose to $5.2 million, or 7 cents a share, from $63,000, or breakeven per share, last year.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 8 cents a share, excluding special items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net interest income rose 15 percent to $69.6 million.

Provision for loan losses fell 41 percent to $21.5 million while total interest expense almost halved to $12.7 million.

Shares of the Itasca, Illinois-based company closed at $12.56 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)