ICICI Bank, India's second-largest private sector lender, reported a 4% year-on-year decline in its standalone net profit for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, ending December 31, 2025. The profit after tax (PAT) stood at ₹11,318 crore, falling short of market estimates. This dip in profitability was primarily attributed to a significant increase in provisions, which more than doubled to ₹2,556 crore (excluding tax) from ₹1,227 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. A key factor contributing to these higher provisions was an additional standard asset provision of ₹1,283 crore, mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This directive followed the RBI's annual supervisory review, which identified that certain agricultural credit facilities in the bank's portfolio were not fully compliant with regulatory requirements for Priority Sector Lending (PSL). However, the bank clarified that this observation pertained to the regulatory classification and not to any deterioration in borrower quality or repayment behavior. Despite the decline in net profit, ICICI Bank demonstrated robust core operating performance. The Net Interest Income (NII) surged by 7.7% year-on-year to ₹21,932 crore, driven by healthy credit growth, with domestic advances increasing by 11.5% year-on-year. The bank also maintained strong asset quality metrics, with the Gross Non-Performing Asset (NPA) ratio improving to 1.53% at December 31, 2025, from 1.96% a year ago. The Net NPA ratio also saw an improvement, declining to 0.37% from 0.42% in Q3 FY2025. In a separate development, the bank's board unanimously approved the reappointment of Mr. Sandeep Bakhshi as Managing Director and CEO for a further two-year term, effective from October 4, 2026, to October 3, 2028, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.