An HDBank branch in HCM City. — Photo courtesy of HDBank
The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank) has announced its results for the fourth quarter of last year and for the full financial year, achieving impressive growth and meeting ambitious targets.
Its pre-tax profit surpassed the target approved at the annual general meeting early last year.
Its return on equity and return on assets were 20.27 per cent and 1.58 per cent. HDBank’s non-performing loan ratio was tightly controlled at 0.97 per cent, the lowest level in the banking industry.
In the fourth quarter, the lender achieved a consolidated pre-tax profit of over VND1.12 trillion (US$48.3 million), up 122.1 per cent year-on-year. This included net interest earning of VND2.16 trillion ($93.1 million), up 23.9 per cent over the same period.
With a breakthrough performance in the last quarter of 2018, pre-tax profit for the whole year was worth nearly VND4.01 trillion ($172.6 million), the highest-ever and representing an increase by 65.7 per cent from 2017.
Besides, earnings from services and foreign exchange trading also grew sharply, helping increase the bank’s income by 37.8 per cent.
Services continued to be a bright spot, with the net profit from services doubling to VND438 billion.
Net earnings from foreign exchange trading also doubled to VND298 billion.
Net interest earnings topped VND7.65 trillion, an increase of 20 per cent from the previous year, though outstanding loans increased by only 18.2 per cent.
Total income grew by 25.7 per cent to VND9.44 trillion.
Assets were worth VND216.11 trillion, up 14.1 per cent from 2017.
HDBank mobilised nearly VND191.59 trillion in deposits and increased its charter capital by 14 per cent to VND16.8 trillion, making it ready to apply Basel Capital Accord II (Basel II) standards when they are adopted by the State Bank of Viet Nam.
Last year, HDBank achieved its target of opening 45 branches and transaction offices, taking the total number nationwide to 285.
The number of consumer financial transaction points increased by more than 2,300 to 13,825, enabling the bank to retain its leading position in the consumer finance industry in terms of network size.
Their large networks enable HDBank and HD Saison to efficiently serve nearly seven million customers, especially in rural areas.
The bank’s stock – code HDB – which was listed last year, has become one of the 20 largest stocks in terms of market captilisation on the HCM Stock Exchange and sees lots of buying by foreign investors.
The bank was awarded the Labour Medal, second class, on the occasion of its 28th anniversary.
Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the baseline credit assessments and counterparty risk assessments for HDBank to B1.
HDBank was one of the 37 largest contributors to HCM City’s revenues, and was honoured for it by the city People’s Committee.
The bank won many awards last year, including for the 40 Most Valuable Brands in Viet Nam from Forbes, the “Best Companies to Work for in Asia” award from HR Asia, the “Retail Banking Award” from the Viet Nam Banks Association and the International Data Group, and the “Best Cash Management in the Asia-Pacific” award from Euromoney.
HDBank also attaches great importance to community programmes. It gave scholarships to 1,000 students, donated health insurance cards to thousands of near-poor people and funded cataract surgeries for thousands of poor patients.
The bank is also a stakeholder in the development of the country’s sports. Last year, for the eighth time it organised the HDBank Cup International Chess Tournament, which resonated in the world of chess. Last year was the largest event with 271 players taking part, including 125 from 21 countries and territories.
The second HDBank Futsal Prize (National Championship and Cup) held last year with attractive games and top-quality competition contributed to the growth of Viet Nam’s futsal in the international arena.
This year, HDBank hopes to increase its assets to VND328.59 trillion, mobilise more than VND303 trillion in deposits and generate pre-tax profits of VND5.1 trillion, have total outstanding loans of VND210.84 trillion if it falls within the credit growth limit approved by the SBV, and increase the number of transaction points to 308. — VNS