ICICI Bank Q2 net up 33 pc, beats forecast

India's second-largest bank, ICICI Bank, reported a 33 per cent rise in quarterly net profit on Friday, beating forecasts and helped by growing demand for loans in the booming economy.

The bank, which is also listed in New York, said net profit in July-Spetember, its fiscal second quarter, was 10.03 billion rupees ($252 million), up from 7.55 billion rupees a year ago.

That compares with a forecast of a 23 per cent rise in net profit to 9.28 billion rupees, according to a poll of 11 brokerages. Unlike a number of US and European banks and some Asian peers, Indian lenders are believed to have little or no exposure to problems in the US subprime mortgage lending market, which have hammered many financials firms earning.

During the quarter, ICICI Bank's shares rose 11.3 percent, while the Mumbai market's banking index and the benchmark index rose 18 per cent.