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PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the visit to Vietinbank. Photo: VGP |
The leader made the statements during visits to the headquarters of Vietinbank and Vietcombank, the two largest Vietnamese commercial banks, in Hanoi on February 21 to wish their employees a Happy Lunar New Year.
The PM extended greetings to 24,000 Vietinbank employees in an event live-streamed in 155 branches of the bank nationwide.
Phuc lauded Vietinbank’s successful equitisation, the growth of its technology-based banking services and its efforts to manage bad debts and improve management efficiency. He also mentioned the bank as a credit provider for the country’s key projects, backing the government to achieve its goals.
He asked the bank to improve its competitiveness by building financial and management capacity to international standards. Vietinbank should adopt solutions to improve and control credit quality; strengthen bad debt management; and continue stepping up administrative reform to provide start-ups and investors easier access to loans, he said.
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PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with Vietcombank staff. Photo: VGP |
Later the same day, the PM met with Vietcombank staff on the occasion of the Vietnamese New Year, during which he praised the bank’s corporate culture.
Vietcombank led in complying with the government’s policies, Phuc noted, adding that the bank is offering the market’s lowest lending interest rates though it has not reduced deposit interest rates.
In a short time, Vietcombank’s total assets exceeded VND 1 quadrillion (USD 44 billion) and its ratio of non-performing loans was down to 1.1 percent, the lowest among domestic credit institutions. The bank is also the first of its kind in Vietnam to exceed VND 10 trillion in profit, Phuc said.
He asked Vietcombank to broaden its vision to become a regional bank in Asia and to expand its size and branches to narrow gaps with large banks in the region.
He also suggested the bank develop banking technology and catch up with new technological trends, particularly in information security and safety.
In 2017, VietinBank earned a total profit of VND 9.2 trillion (USD 404 million), 105 percent of its annual target.
The bank’s total assets notched a year-on-year surge of 15.3 percent to exceed VND 1.1 quadrillion (USD 48.4 billion), making it one of Vietnam’s three largest banks in terms of assets and the country’s second-largest bank in terms of profit, after Vietcombank.
Its outstanding loans reached VND 839 trillion (over USD 36.9 billion), up 18 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, Vietcombank reported pre-tax profit of more than VND 11 trillion (USD 482.5 million) last year.
This was a record pre-tax profit achieved by a Vietnamese bank, representing a rise of 32.9 percent during the same period in the previous year and 16 percent higher than Vietcombank’s target.
Total deposits amounted to VND 889.7 trillion (over USD 39.1 billion), up 38.7 percent year on year and 18 percent above set target.
Outstanding loans reached VND 553 trillion (USD 24.33 billion), an increase of 17.2 percent.
Source: VNA