MUMBAI: Private lender ICICI Bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,908 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, compared to a net loss of Rs 120 crore a year ago, led by improvement in its core operating profit and reduction in credit cost. The bank said its net Non-Performing Assets (NPA) have declined by 51 per cent to Rs 11,857 crore.
The net NPA ratio of 1.77 per cent in June quarter is the lowest in 14 quarters, said Sandeep Batra, executive director (designate), ICICI Bank. Though there is a slowdown in retail loans and higher additions to NPA from retail side during Q1, Batra said, the bank is continuously assessing the risk filters. “Credit quality for retail book is holding up. We do expect credit cost to be stable,” he said.
The bank’s domestic advances rose 18 per cent, with retail loan portfolio clocking 22 per cent growth. Domestic corporate loans saw 13 per cent rise on year and total advances rose 15 per cent to Rs 592,415 crore.
“We are focused on expanding our core operating profit by growing our business in a risk calibrated and granular manner. As mentioned earlier, we are not targeting any particular level of loan growth, but seeking to improve our share of profitable market share by making our delivery to customer service seamless,” Batra said. The bank guided on expectation of reaching 15 per cent return on equity by the end of June 2020.