Analysts see a sharp uptick in Q4 profit of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank

Lower provisions will be a key driver, backed by healthy operating profit growth; commentary on asset quality and collections among monitorables, write Subrata Panda & Nikita Vashisht

ICICI Bank
 
A healthy rise in loans, double-digit growth in operating profit, and leaner provisioning are expected to help ICICI Bank to report over 300 per cent YoY jump in profit after tax (PAT) for the March 2021 quarter (Q4).
 
Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) expects the lender’s provisioning to decline by a striking 64.3 per cent YoY to Rs 2,129 crore. In Q4FY20, the lender had set aside Rs 5,967 crore owing to the uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the December 2020 quarter, the lender had made provisions of Rs 2,742 crore.
 
“We expect provisions