BVBank targets move to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in 2023

BVBank's AGM 2023

CEO of Viet Capital Bank, Ngo Quang Trung, highlighted the challenges faced by the banking industry, following the State Bank of Vietnam's guidance. However, the bank was able to achieve its business targets by closely monitoring the situation and implementing flexible management policies.

As of December 31, the bank's total assets increased by 3 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching over $3.4 billion. Total mobilised capital and outstanding loans increased by 3 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively. Furthermore, pre-tax profit increased by an impressive 46 per cent compared to 2021.

Meanwhile, the bank presented two noteworthy proposals, including the transfer of BVB stock trading from UpCom to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange to create new advantages for shareholder stock trading, and changing the name from Viet Capital Bank to BVBank for easier communication and branding purposes.

BVBank continued to expand its network in 2022, opening 21 new business locations nationwide, bringing the total number of branches and transaction offices to 109 in 30 provinces and cities. The bank has also ramped up its efforts to diversify its digital services, resulting in a 75 per cent increase in the number of customers compared to the previous year.

In addition to its business activities, BVBank continued to develop its risk management framework to meet international standards. Key projects such as RAROC and IFRS9 were implemented to ensure the bank's risk management practices were in line with global best practices.

Anticipated economic difficulties loom large in 2023, and the banking industry, both in general and specifically for BVBank, will face numerous challenges. In light of this, BVBank recognises the need for an abundance of caution in the first six months of this year, closely monitoring market fluctuations to implement flexible policies in response.

The Board of Directors also submitted a business plan for 2023 at the AGM, which included specific targets including increasing total assets by 10 per cent to reach $3.8 billion and targeting a pre-tax profit of $21.8 million, up 10 per cent on-year.

However, BVBank has just released its consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of 2023, reporting a pre-tax profit of nearly $1.1 million, which represents a significant decline compared to the same period last year.

The primary reason for this drop is a sharp decrease in net interest income, the bank's main source of revenue, which decreased by 31.6 per cent on-year, amounting to $12.4 million.

The bank's leadership stated that the net interest margin experienced a sharp decrease over this period due to a very high average deposit interest rate compared to the same period last year, despite the declining trend resulting from the bank's interest rate reduction initiatives.

Despite the challenges faced, some of the bank's other business areas recorded relatively favourable results, including a more than 17-fold increase in net revenue from securities trading, reaching over $826,000, and a 2.7-fold increase in net revenue from other activities compared to the same period last year, amounting to nearly $1 million.

Training and cooperation at heart of IFRS compliance Preparation for the conversion to and adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by Vietnam-based companies is one of the most important steps towards propelling economic development with greater transparency. However, various challenges still colour the landscape.

Companies hold back from listing in exchange shake-up A number of companies have postponed or entirely cancelled plans to list in Vietnam due to current market volatility and economic uncertainties, while some banks signal their intention to tap into broader funds by switching to the Ho Chi Minh City bourse.