ICICI Bank net up 20%, to focus on retail loans

Riding on higher net interest income, fee income, lower operating expenses and renewed focus on consumer loans, ICICI Bank, the second largest bank in India, posted a 20 per cent jump in stand-alone net profit at Rs 2,352 crore for the quarter ended September as against Rs 1,956 crore in the same period of last year.



The total income during the period under review was Rs 12,979.79 crore as against Rs 12,069.30 crore in the same period a year ago. The core net interest income grew 20 per cent to Rs 4,044 crore.



Net interest margin — difference between the interest income and the amount of interest paid out to depositors — expanded to 3.31 per cent from 3 per cent a year earlier.



\"We expect the margins to remain above 3.3 per cent for the financial year,\" Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, said in a conference call with reporters. \"An increasing share of retail deposits will help in margin improvement.\"



Earlier this month, HDFC Bank posted a 27 per cent rise in profit, ending its record of posting 30 per cent on-year profit growth every quarter for the last decade due to investment losses and a squeezed net interest margin.



ICICI Bank shares closed steady at Rs 1,021.65 on the BSE on Friday.



On the advances front, Kochhar said the bank adopted a \"calibrated\" strategy of staying away from corporate loans and focused more on the retail side. Corporate credit registered a growth of only 11 per cent, while on retail side the expansion was 20 per cent.



Kochhar said the bank will continue to focus on its retail franchise. Overall deposits grew 10 per cent during the quarter. The bank maintained the CASA ratio at 43.3 per cent. The bank added Rs 1,100 crore to its gross non-performing assets and Rs 1,076 crore in restructured assets during the quarter, she said.
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