April 28: Leading private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday reported a 44 per cent jump in its net profit for the March quarter, which clocked in at Rs 1,452 crore. Apart from a growth in business, the bank has also seen its margins improve considerably as it has raised more money from low cost sources such as current accounts and savings accounts. At the end of the March quarter, the bank had a retail network of 2,529 branches, the largest amongst all the private sector lenders.
The total growth in loans during the quarter was 19 per cent over last year’s figures, and was higher than the increase in deposits. The next phase of growth for the bank will be challenging, says brokerage house Ambit, because the bank will need to increase its deposit base. This would mean higher interest rates — which could push margins down, it adds. A positive for the bank during the quarter was a drop in the extent of non-performing or bad loans. The overall value fell 37 per cent to Rs 2,459 crore.