Banks change executives on threshold of AGMs

Changes in top management positions are expected to continue in the forthcoming time in the lead-up to banks' annual general shareholders' meetings

The latest personnel change in the banking sector is that of MBBank’s former deputy CEO Le Hai moving on to take the position of acting CEO at ABBank from early this month, replacing Pham Duy Hieu who resigned due to personal reasons.

ABBank said that it will conduct the necessary procedures to request approval from the central bank (SBV) before Le Hai officially takes the CEO title.

Le Hai, born in 1976, holds a doctorate degree on finance and banking with 22 years of experience in the financial and banking sector.

Hai used to hold top professional and management positions at MBBank, such as director at MB Viet Tri branch, director of MB Dien Bien Phu branch, acting director of the SMEs section, and deputy general director.

ABBank’s Board of Management has decided that Pham Duy Hieu will continue handling assigned tasks at the bank’s HR Committee, focusing on training work and spurring the bank's digital bank project.

Ho Chi Minh City-based commercial lender HDBank has just released decisions on new personnel at the Board of Management. Accordingly, Nguyen Huu Dang took on the position of deputy chairman of the Board of Management, and Pham Quoc Thanh became the CEO.

Nguyen Huu Dang, born in 1970, used to work for the SBV's Dong Thap branch and VietinBank before joining the HDBank team.

Dang held the CEO position at HDBank since 2010 and made significant contributions to the bank’s spectacular growth in recent years.

Taking on the CEO position from Dang, Pham Quoc Thanh, also born in 1970, holds two bachelor degrees on finance-banking and foreign languages. Thanh used to work at several major banks before being given the position of deputy general director at HDBank in 2013.

Earlier, privately-held VietBank announced the resignation of CEO Nguyen Thanh Nhung due to personal desires.

To ensure the continuity of business activities, the bank’s Board of Management has appointed Le Huy Dung as deputy general director as CEO.

Dung used to be the general director of DaiA Bank. The bank was previously merged into HDBank.

On March 5, the Board of Management at Eximbank appointed Nguyen Quang Thong to the position of deputy chairman of the Board and La Quang Trung to the chief accountant position.

Meanwhile at Sacombank, Pham Quoc Huynh was no longer the bank’s deputy general director since mid-March, and holds no management position at the bank.

There have also been changes in the top management positions at state-owned BIDV when in early March the bank had four new deputy general directors simultaneously.

A bit earlier, Vietcombank unveiled its appointment of a top executive at Vietcombank's head office in Laos.

Earlier this year, LienVietPostBank approved the dismissal of Nguyen Dinh Thanh from the position of chairman of the bank’s Board of Management. On the same day, the bank leaders appointed Huynh Ngoc Huy to the position’s third term lasting from 2018 to 2023.

At Techcombank, the Board of Management has decided to let go CEO Nguyen Le Quoc Anh on his request from September 1, 2020.

Anh said that he wanted to live close to his family and proposed the Board of Management to not extend his employment contract that will end on September 1 afer completing his five-year term at the helm.

Forecasts point to the fact that the banking sector’s top management positions will continue to be volatile until banks convene their annual general shareholders' meetings (AGMs).

Eximbank said that they were planning to add a member to the Board of Management at the extraordinary AGM slated to be held on March 5, but the meeting fact did not take place due to COVID-19.

SCB also said they would have new members in the Board of Management in the upcoming AGM.

Financial analysts forecast that the banking sector would face a tough year in 2020 due to the implications of COVID-19.

Viet Dragon Securities JSC (DVSC) has just released a report about the impacts of COVID-19 on banks’ growth.

Accordingly, DVSC delivered an assessment that the banking sector’s credit expansion may be slashed by 2-3 per cent compared to 2019. Banks, therefore, would revise their profit targets by 10-20 per cent to the south, and changes in top management positions would be likely.