ICICI Bank Q4 results today: Lender likely to post decent numbers; profit seen rising over 12%; more details here

ICICI Bank's margins are also expected to remain broadly healthy, benefiting from the cut in cash reserve ratio (CRR) and a sequential decline in slippage. The cash reserve is the amount of capital a bank has. The CRR is the percentage of total deposits a bank must have in cash to operate risk-free.

Its clean loan book and high credit quality give it a strong edge, note analysts tracking the sector. They expect the bank's return on assets (RoA) to be at 2.2% and return on equity (RoE) at 17% by FY27, putting it ahead of peers in terms of profitability, reports note.

Return on Equity (ROE) is the measure of a company's annual return (net income) divided by the value of its total shareholders' equity, expressed as a percentage.

Return on Equity (ROE) = Net Income / Equity of the Shareholders

ICICI Bank recent updates

The Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of both banks has been affirmed at 'BB+'. A 'BB' IDR indicates an elevated vulnerability to default risk.

Fitch said India's strong medium-term growth potential and its large, diversified economy are reflected in Fitch's operating environment (OE) score.

Concerning ICICI Bank, Fitch said it expects a moderate increase in ICICI's loan/deposit ratio as the bank aims to balance loan and deposit growth.

"We have revised ICICI's asset quality score to 'BB', from 'BB-', and the outlook to stable, from positive. This follows an improved impaired loans ratio, which we expect to be sustained at around current levels," Fitch said.

On April 16, ICICI Bank cut its savings account deposit interest rate by 0.25%, according to the lender's website.

The second private sector bank's move comes days after larger rival HDFC Bank announced a similar move amid a spate of cuts in deposit offerings following RBI's two back-to-back rate decreases.

On April 1, the bank said it plans to exit from its associate ICICI Merchant Services Private Limited by selling the entire 19% stake in the company.

The bank has executed a share purchase agreement with First Data Holding I (Netherlands) B.V., First Data (India) Private Limited (nominee of First Data Holding I (Netherlands) B.V.), and Fiserv Merchant Solutions Private Limited (formerly known as IMSPL) concerning the sale of its entire shareholding of 19 per cent in equity shares of IMSPL, ICICI Bank said.

ICICI Bank reported a 15% rise in standalone net profit to ₹11,792 crore for the quarter ended in December, helped by growth in core income.

The second-largest private sector lender earned a net profit of ₹10,272 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Total income increased to ₹48,368 crore from ₹42,792 crore in the same period a year ago, ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Net interest income (NII) increased by 9.1% year-on-year to ₹20,371 crore from ₹18,678 crore in Q3-2024, it said.

Core operating profit grew by 13.1% to ₹16,516 crore compared to ₹14,601 crore in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

On the asset quality front, the bank's gross non-performing assets ratio improved to 1.96% as against 2.3% a year ago.

Similarly, net NPAs, or bad loans, came down to 0.42% from 0.44% at the end of the third quarter last fiscal year.

ICICI Bank hits record high

ICICI Bank shares hit a record high of ₹1,408.60 apiece on the BSE on Thursday, April 17. Its peer, HDFC Bank, too, hit its all-time high.

Banking shares soared in the trade on Friday, thanks to heavy buying in banking shares. The BSE BANKEX index rose 2.56% to 62,293.27 levels on the BSE.