ICICI Bank posts surprise first-quarter loss as provisions surge

ICICI Bank Ltd, India's third-largest lender by assets, reported a surprise first-quarter net loss on Friday on higher provisions for bad loans and treasury losses.

The bank made a net loss of Rs 1.20 billion ($17.47 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with a profit of Rs 20.49 billion a year earlier, it said in a statement.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 14.62 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans was 8.81 per cent at the end of June, compared with 8.84 per cent at the end of the previous quarter and 7.99 percent a year earlier.