MUMBAI: ICICI Bank on Friday reported its highest quarterly profit ever and said that it expects to return to normal from the next financial year given the resumption of economic activity in the country. The country’s second-largest private sector bank reported a net profit of Rs 4,251 crore for the quarter ended September 2020 — an increase of 550% from Rs 655 crore in September 2019.
The profits were bolstered by a sharp fall in provisions for bad loans coupled with a reduction in its cost of funds. For several quarters now, the bank has been making chunky provisions for past loans that had soured. The bank indicated that the process of providing for legacy loans is now over.
The bank also said that the board has approved the reappointment of its MD and CEO Sandeep Bakhshi for another two-year term up to October 2023. Bakhshi was appointed in October 2018 for a three-year term which ends in 2021.
Announcing the results, Sandeep Batra, president, ICICI Bank said “Pandemics do not last long and as a society, we are learning to live with precautions. As economic activity comes back we expect growth to be normal. We expect norm-alisation of the portfolio given the quality of assets that we have built,” he said.
According to Batra, while the current fiscal might see some provisions on account of Covid-19, credit costs were expected to normalise in FY21. The bank’s domestic loan book grew 10% year-on-year while retail loans grew 13%. Total deposits grew by 20% year-on-year to Rs 832,936 crore at September 30, 2020.
The profits were bolstered by a sharp fall in provisions for bad loans coupled with a reduction in its cost of funds. For several quarters now, the bank has been making chunky provisions for past loans that had soured. The bank indicated that the process of providing for legacy loans is now over.
The bank also said that the board has approved the reappointment of its MD and CEO Sandeep Bakhshi for another two-year term up to October 2023. Bakhshi was appointed in October 2018 for a three-year term which ends in 2021.
Announcing the results, Sandeep Batra, president, ICICI Bank said “Pandemics do not last long and as a society, we are learning to live with precautions. As economic activity comes back we expect growth to be normal. We expect norm-alisation of the portfolio given the quality of assets that we have built,” he said.
According to Batra, while the current fiscal might see some provisions on account of Covid-19, credit costs were expected to normalise in FY21. The bank’s domestic loan book grew 10% year-on-year while retail loans grew 13%. Total deposits grew by 20% year-on-year to Rs 832,936 crore at September 30, 2020.
