Tag: vietnam bank

  • Vietnamese banks report Jan-Sept rise in bad debts

    Vietnamese banks report Jan-Sept rise in bad debts

    Thirteen of 17 listed banks have seen their bad debts rise in the first 9 months of this year, according to banks’ financial reports. Experts blame this on recent credit growth, loose lending practices and accumulated old non-performing loans.

    Bad debts of VietinBank, the country’s second largest lender by assets, rose by 34.5 percent to nearly VND12.13 trillion ($519.82 million) in the first 9 months of this year.

    Group 5 debt, the worst category for potential loan losses, accounted for the largest proportion at 72 percent of the bank’s total bad debts. Group 5 debt was also the category with the biggest increase in the last 9 months, rising 68 percent to nearly VND8.74 trillion ($374.57 million).

    At BIDV, Vietnam’s biggest bank by assets, bad debts had totaled VND17 trillion ($728.65 million), a 21.1 percent increase over late 2017. However the bank’s bad debt ratio stood at 1.76 percent, well below the 3 percent danger limit set by the State Bank of Vietnam.

    The bad debt ratio of VPBank, meanwhile, rose to 4.7 percent by Q3, compared to 2017’s year-end figure of 3.39 percent. At the end of Q3, VPBank’s bad debt had increased by 52 percent compared to the beginning of the year, reaching VND9.4 trillion ($402.9 million)

    At Techcombank, total bad debt rose 33 percent between January and September, with Group 5 bad debt rising by 31 percent. Overall, the bad debt ratio on the bank’s loans rose to 2.05 percent from 1.61 percent at the beginning of the year. The bank’s bad debt is currently at VND3.43 trillion ($146.82 million).

    trillion VNDVietnamese banks’ bad debtas of September 201812.112.117179.49.43.43.4VietinbankBIDVVPBankTechcombank05101520BIDV● Bad debt: 17

    Banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said that the increase in bad debt was related to credit growth. New bad debt rises as banks increase lending and adopt looser lending practices, he said.

    The country’s credit growth in the first nine months of this year was 9.52 percent.

    Pham Hong Hai, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, said that from 2019 onwards, bad debt may re-emerge as a problem for banks after the recent credit growth and instability in global financial markets.

    State Bank of Vietnam Governor Le Minh Hung said recently that bad debts and potential bad debts of the sector amounted to 8.61 percent of total credit by the end of September.

    Vietnam’s banking sector posted an estimated 18.17 percent credit growth in 2017, according to the Ministry of Finance. It has targeted a credit growth of 17 percent this year.

  • Vietnamese banks register more than robust profit growth

    Vietnamese banks register more than robust profit growth

    Commercial banks in Vietnam have posted impressive growth, with profits doubling or even tripling over last year’s first nine months. The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has announced profit before tax (PBT) of VND 11.68 trillion ($502.16 million) in the first nine months, a 47 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

    In the private banking sector, the current profit leader is Techcombank, which reported a 9 month PBT of VND7.77 trillion ($334.2 million), an increase of 61 percent over the same period last year. Nearly all business lines at Techcombank saw positive growth.

    Pre-tax profit of lender ACB hit a record VND4.8 trillion ($206.3 million) in the 9-month period, 2.4 times higher than the same period last year.

    The highest growth rate of the period went to Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), with its profit before tax of VND1.72 trillion ($73.9 million), marking an increase of 176 percent over the same period last year.

    Banks relied heavily on interest income to achieve these profits. For example, VPBank granted loans worth VND 211.09 trillion ($9.08 billion), up by 17 percent over the same period last year, and corresponding figures for Vietcombank were up 15 percent to VND 616.41 trillion ($26.5 billion).

    In addition, the banks have also gained positive results from the fee-for-services approach.

    According to banking experts, with strong credit growth at the beginning of the year and the economy forecast to remain stable, bank profitability is set to continue rising sharply towards the end of the year.

    In the last months of the year, many banks’ credit facilities have been running low, but this is balanced by rising interest rates that boost their net income.

    HSBC Vietnam CEO Pham Hong Hai said that profitability of the sector will peak in 2018 and gradually fall later. The central bank may not want to maintain such high credit growth in the near future, and could work to bring it down, he explained.

    The country’s banking sector posted an estimated 18.17 percent loan growth in 2017, according to the Ministry of Finance. It has targeted growth of 17 percent this year.

    Hai said that from 2019 onwards, bad debt may re-emerge as a problem for banks after the recent credit growth and the instability of the global financial markets. Therefore, banking profits will most likely see a downward trend next year.

    State Bank of Vietnam Governor Le Minh Hung said recently that bad debts and potential bad debts amounted to 8.61 percent of total credit by the end of September.

  • Vietcombank files for private issue of 360 million shares

    Vietcombank files for private issue of 360 million shares

    Vietnam’s State Securities Commission has received an application from Vietcombank for a private placement of shares worth over $156.5 million. The commission (SSC) said the country’s third largest bank by assets proposes to make a private issue of 360 million shares, equivalent to 10 percent of its charter capital.

    The lender plans to sell nearly 54 million shares to its strategic partner, Japan’s Mizuho Bank, to ensure it retains its 15 percent stake post dilution.

    It will sell the remaining 306 million shares, or 7.73 percent of its charter capital, to other undisclosed investors.

    The bank has not disclosed the issue price either. Its shares closed at VND58,000 ($2.5) Friday on the HCMC market.

    The State Bank of Vietnam recently gave Vietcombank approval to increase its charter capital by 10 percent to VND39.58 trillion ($1.69 billion).

    The lender has also received approval from its shareholders to make the private placement.

    Vietcombank and other top lenders, including BIDV and Vietinbank, have been struggling to increase their capital to meet international capital adequacy norms.

    The second Basel Accords, or Basel II, prescribe minimum capital adequacy of 8 percent of risk-weighted assets for all financial institutions to cover operational risks.

    In 2016 Vietcombank signed a deal with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited to sell a 7.73 percent stake. The deal has yet to be consummated, with the bank’s chairman, Nghiem Xuan Thanh, saying they have been unable to agree on a price.

    As a state-owned bank, Vietcombank’s issue of new shares must not be at a price lower than their current market price or a minimum value set by the government.

    However, the price offered by GIC did not meet this requirement.

    If the private issuance of VND3.6 trillion ($156.5 million) is successful, Vietcombank will have the highest chartered capital in the industry of nearly VND40 trillion ($1.74 billion).