Mumbai, Jan 20 : IDFC First Bank on Saturday reported an 18 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 716 crore for the October-December quarter of the current financial year. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 605 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. The bank's Net Interest Income (NII) grew 30 per cent year-on-year from Rs 3,285 crore in Q3-FY23 to Rs. 4,287 crore in Q3- FY24. The net interest margin was 6.42 per cent during the quarter up from 6.13 per cent in the year ago period. The bank registered an improvement in its asset quality with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declining to 2.04 per cent of total loans, down from 3.96 per cent in the same quarter last year. The net NPA for the quarter was 0.68 per cent, improving from 1.74 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. The bank's CASA deposits grew by 28.6 per cent year-on-year from Rs 66,498 crores as of December 31, 2022, to Rs 85,492 crores as of December 31, 2023. CASA Ratio stood at 46.8 per cent as of December 31, 2023. 'We are happy to share that our deposits continue to grow strongly at 43 per cent year-on-year, and our CASA ratio continues to be strong at 46.8 per cent. Our asset quality continues to improve,' IDFC First Bank CEO V Vaidyanathan said. He said that n the Retail, Rural & SME business, which is a significant part of our business, the Gross NPA and Net NPA continues to remain low and are at 1.45 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively as of December 31, 2023. /IANS