ICICI Bank Q3 net falls 19% to Rs 2,442 cr; bad loans rise

Asset quality remains under pressure leading to a rise in dud loans and lower core interest income

ICICI Bank, country's largest private sector lender, saw a 19.09 per cent drop in its net profit in the October-December quarter to Rs 2,441.82 crore from Rs 3,018.13 crore in the same period last financial year.

The management explained that the profit was lower as compared to the previous quarters as there were significant gains from stake sale in subsidiaries in the comparative quarters.

"If you are comparing the profits with Q3 of last year and Q2 of this year, both the quarters have substantial gains from sale of stake in life insurance companies. Q3 last years included a gain of Rs