A bird flies past the facade of the ICICI bank head office in Mumbai, India, April 21, 2023. REUTERS
MUMBAI, April 18 (Reuters) – India’s ICICI Bank reported a stronger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit on Saturday, driven by robust loan growth and lower provisions for bad loans.
The country’s second-largest private lender by market capitalisation posted a standalone net profit of 137.02 billion Indian rupees ($1.48 billion) for the three months to March 31, compared with 126.30 billion rupees a year earlier.
Analysts had expected a profit of 126.52 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Indian banks saw credit demand pick up in the second half of the financial year as easing inflation supported consumer spending and corporate borrowing showed signs of revival.
ICICI Bank’s total loans grew 15.8% from a year earlier, led by continued momentum in retail lending, particularly mortgages and vehicle loans, while business banking and corporate loans also contributed to growth.
The bank’s deposits rose 11.4% during the quarter.
Net interest income – the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits – rose 8.4% to 229.8 billion rupees, helped by loan growth and stable margins.
The bank’s net interest margin was steady at 4.32%.
Gross non-performing assets as a percentage of total loans declined to 1.4% at the end of March.
Provisions for bad loans fell 89% to 9.6 billion rupees, driven by stronger recoveries and fewer new defaults.
The bank reported a treasury loss of 1.06 billion rupees, marginally lower than the 1.57 billion rupees in the previous quarter, as higher bond yields and the Indian central bank’s curbs on forex positions continued to hurt banks.
Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
