ICICI Bank posts record profit boosted by strong loan growth

Mumbai

ICICI Bank's net income rose about 30 per cent in the second quarter to a record, led by strong loan growth as consumer demand improved after a drop in the number of coronavirus cases.

Net income at India's second-largest private lender stood at a record high of 55.1 billion rupees (S$990 million) in the quarter ended September, compared with 42.5 billion rupees a year ago, it said in a statement on Oct 23. That beat the average estimate of 49.8 billion rupees from nine analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

The results come after HDFC Bank, India's largest private lender, beat profit estimates due to improving credit growth.

Banks are offering decade-low interest rates to individuals for homes, cars and other consumer goods to boost their loan books. Companies such as automobile manufacturers and e-commerce giants are also offering discounts to push sales.

India's Covid-battered economy is starting to recover with diesel consumption rebounding in the first half of October and private consumption accounting for more than half of the economy's growth.

"Going ahead, we are optimistic about the growth of the Indian economy," said Sandeep Batra, an executive director at ICICI Bank, in a media call. "We see many opportunities to grow our core operating profit in a calibrated manner."

The bad loan ratio at ICICI Bank narrowed to 4.82 per cent in the three months to September, from 5.15 per cent in the previous quarter. It set aside 27.13 billion rupees in provisions in the September quarter, down from the 28.52 billion rupees in the three months earlier and 29.95 billion rupees a year ago. The lender's domestic loan portfolio grew by 19 per cent year on year.

The Mumbai-based bank issued the most number of credit cards after the banking regulator barred its competitor HDFC Bank from providing new ones, according to local media reports. BLOOMBERG