ICICI Bank , India's second-largest private lender by market capitalisation, beat quarterly profit forecasts on Saturday, helped by healthy loan growth resulting in higher core lending income.

Its core net interest income increased 10.6 per cent to Rs 21,635 crore on the back of a 12 per cent domestic loan growth, but was restricted by a narrowing of the net interest margin to 4.34 per cent from 4.41 per cent in the quarter-ago period.

India’s top private-sector banks HDFC Bank Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. could see profits come under pressure from loan growth at a three-year low and thinning margins driven by central bank rate cuts, as they report earnings this weekend.