HDBank and SGVF representatives shake hands at a capital transfer meeting. The bank will acquire the French finance company in line with national banking system restructuring plans. — Photo hdbank.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) ― HCM City Development Bank (HDBank) announced on Wednesday that it has received approval from the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) to acquire Société Générale Viet Finance (SGVF), one of the largest foreign owned consumer finance companies in Viet Nam.

The bank said that the wholly French owned company will become a subsidiary and it expects that being the first transaction of this kind in Viet Nam, it will encourage other institutions to carry out further acquisitions, in line with the nation's restructuring plans for the banking system.

"The acquisition is in accordance with international trends and restructuring plans advocated by the Government and the SBV," said the bank's Deputy General Director Le Thanh Trung.

The combination of a stably developing bank and a well invested international financial institution will help to bring customers convenient and safe products and services, he said.

The whole SGVF network, including employees, business partners and customers, will also be kept intact after the acquisition, he added.

SGVF, owned by France's Société Générale Co, was first licenced by the SBV in 2007 to operate in Viet Nam. It is present in 42 provinces with roughly 1,100 employees and provides services to more than 125,000 individual customers, through 300 partners, across the country. ― VNS