January 07, 2010: ICICI Bank is optimistic about home and auto loans amidst slowdown in the banking industry. The bank's deputy managing director, Sandeep Bakshi, said, "On quarter-on-quarter basis, in the first two quarters, our home loan portfolio has shown an improvement.'' However, talking on corporate loan, Bakshi said actual disbursements happen after a lag because these projects get implemented over a period of time.

In contrast, retail loans like auto disbursement happen immediately. Even home loan disbursement, unless it is a cash out deal like second house purchase or direct purchase from the builder, it takes some time for the disbursement, said Bakshi. The bank is likely to announce its third quarter results on January 21.