Big banks report high profits

Several major Vietnamese banks have officially reported impressive business results for the year 2014.

Viet Nam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) posted pre-tax profits of VND3.23 trillion (US$152.1 million), showing a 6 per cent year-on-year increase from 2013 and meeting 101 per cent of the target.

By the end of last year, the bank's total assets stood at VND762.8 trillion ($35.8 billion), an increase of 10 per cent over 2013. Its total deposits rose 10 per cent to VND690.1 trillion ($32.4 billion), while total outstanding loans amounted to VND605.3 trillion ($28.4 billion). Loans for agriculture and rural areas amounted to VND411.2 trillion ($19.3 billion), accounting for 74 per cent of the total.

Agribank's total revenue from services reached VND2.8 trillion ($131.6 million), increasing 19 per cent in comparison with the previous year and surpassing the target by 4 per cent.

With these results, the bank led the domestic banking sector in terms of total assets in 2014.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam also reported a 20 per cent year-on-year rise in pre-tax profit in 2014, amounting to VND6.06 trillion ($285 million).

By the end of last year, its total assets were more than VND655 trillion ($30.7 billion), increasing 18 per cent from the previous year. The bank's outstanding loans reached more than VND461 trillion ($21.6 billion), a 19 per cent rise from 2013.

Its return on equity was 14 per cent, while Returns on Asset were 0.8 per cent, and earnings per share reached 1,700.

The bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) has not yet made an official announcement. However, according to a report from VCB Securities Company, the bank's pre-tax profit last year was estimated at VND5.6 trillion ($263 million), rising 2 per cent against 2013. Its business activities saw relatively high growth, while bad debts were well controlled at 2.3 per cent compared with 2.7 per cent in 2013.

Vietcombank's lending surged 18 per cent in 2014. The bank sold bad debts worth VND2.6 trillion ($122.2 million) to the Viet Nam Asset Management Company last year.

Some smaller banks also announced their business results for last year. For example, the Tien Phong Bank's pre-tax profit last year was VND536 billion ($25.1 million), surpassing the target by 22 per cent. Its total assets amounted to VND51.5 trillion ($2.4 billion), while its outstanding loans rose by 50 per cent. The bank's bad debts were at 1 per cent, and its total deposits was VND47 trillion ($2.2 billion).

NamABank achieved an estimated pre-tax profit of VND243 billion ($11.4 million), an increase of 15 per cent over the target. It had planned to get listed on the stock market this year.

Experts said the announced results of the banking industry are an indication of the economy's recovery. The latest report from the State Bank of Viet Nam revealed that the total assets of credit institutions as of the end of last November had reached VND6.27 quadrillion ($295 billion), posting a 6.34 per cent increase over the beginning of last year.

VNS