An HDBank transaction office in HCM City. The banker fulfils all financial targets approved at its annual general meeting last year. — Photo courtesy of the bank

The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank has reported a pre-tax profit of VND5.82 trillion (US$251.8 million) for last year, up 15.9 per cent from 2019.

HDBank released its audited financial statement for 2020 on Tuesday.

Its assets were up 39.1 per cent to VND319.1 trillion ($13.8 billion) as of December 31.

Deposits topped VND208.9 trillion, up 38.4 per cent, and loans outstanding increased by 23 per cent to VND188.2 trillion.

The non-performing loans ratio was just 0.93 per cent, among the lowest in the industry.

All the bonds it sold to the Vietnam Asset Management Company were liquidated before schedule.

Its safety indicators have been improving constantly: the ratio of short-term deposits used for medium- and long-term loans is only 24.8 per cent as against the permitted maximum level of 40 per cent; the capital adequacy ratio is 12.1 per cent while Basel II and the State Bank of Vietnam prescribe 8 per cent.

HDBank was one of the first lenders in Viet Nam to achieve all three pillars of Basel II on risk management ahead of the central bank’s schedule.

Credit rating agency Moody's recently confirmed HDBank B1 rating with a stable outlook.

The bank also achieved its plans to increase charter capital from VND9.8 trillion to more than VND16.088 trillion by issuing dividends and bonus shares to the tune of 65 per cent, the highest rate in the industry.

Its services segment too flourished with profits from it increasing by half.

In 2020 ‘Di HDBank,’ the result of its digital transformation, enabled customers to carry out digital banking transactions anytime and from anywhere.

The lender also pioneered online customer identity verification (eKYC) and was the very first bank in Viet Nam to issue, present and settle letters of credit using blockchain technology.

For its outstanding achievements, HDBank won many prestigious honours last year from renowned Vietnamese and international organisations such as the ‘Mid-sized Domestic Retail Bank of the Year’ award from Asian Banking & Finance, the ‘Best Companies To Work For in Asia’ award from HR Asia and the ‘Top 10 Sustainable Businesses’ award in Viet Nam in the trading and services sector from the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. — VNS