Indian bank ICICI Bank’s net profit jumps 37% as provisions for bad debts fall

MUMBAI, Oct 22 (Reuters) – ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), India’s second largest private sector lender, reported a 37% rise in quarterly net profit on Saturday as loan growth rose slightly and provisions for bad debts decreasing.

Net profit for the three months ending September 30 rose to 75.58 billion rupees ($916 million), broadly in line with analysts’ estimate of 73.51 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. .

Net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned and interest paid, amounted to 147.9 billion rupees, up 26 percent from the year-ago period, the agency said. bank in a press release.

Advances rose 23% as the bank saw strong demand across all segments, including personal and business loans.

Loans rose across all segments, including large corporates, although the bank is focusing on higher-rated borrowers, he said.

Credit growth at Indian banks continues to expand at its fastest pace in several quarters, up 16.4% year-on-year as of September 23, according to central bank data, even as the Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate by 190 basis points this financial year.

ICICI Bank’s deposits grew at a slower pace of 12%. The lender holds adequate liquidity and does not view deposit growth as a constraint to the bank’s overall growth, chief executive Sandeep Batra said.

The net interest margin, a key indicator of a bank’s profitability, stands at 4.31%.

Gross non-performing assets fell to 3.19% from 3.41% in the June quarter. Net non-performing assets fell to 0.61% from 0.70%.

The bank’s board has approved the reappointment of chief executive Sandeep Bakhshi for another three-year term starting in October 2023, it said in a statement. Reappointment is subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

($1 = 82.5290 Indian rupees)

Reporting by Nupur Anand, Rajendra Jadhav and Ira Dugal; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mike Harrison

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