Nam A Bank has decided to not merge with other banks. —

HA NOI  (Biz Hub) — Nam A Bank is restructuring itself as per the plan approved by the State Bank of Viet Nam and does not plan to merge with other banks, the chairman of the bank's Board of Directors, Phan Dinh Tan, has said.

Tan told Vnexpress that considering Nam A Bank's size, restructuring the bank was feasible option. He added that the bank would streamline its system to make it more effective and in accordance with international rules as applicable to the Viet Nam's banking system.

He said together with enlarging the network nationwide, the bank would also focus on risk management, attaining a healthier financial status and will also follow the legal regulations on ownership structure.

For nearly a year now, investors privately speculated that Nam A Bank would merge with Eximbank, just as it had announced in the middle of the last year that it was finding another bank to merge with.

Investors had one more reason to believe in the success of the deal when in March, two members of the Nam A Bank's management board, Tran Ngo Phuc Vu and Tran Ngoc Tam, resigned from two important posts. They were also running for election to Eximbank's Board of Directors at the yearly shareholders' meeting which took place a month later.

However, contrary to predictions, the Eximbank shareholders' meeting did not discuss the merger of Eximbank with another bank.

Currently, Tran Ngo Phuc Vu represents 8.4 per cent of institutional shares and holds 2.85 per cent of individual shares in Eximbank. Similarly, Tran Ngoc Tam holds 7.5 per cent and 2.85 per cent shares, respectively.

Nam A Bank's Tan said the investment of Vu and Tam in Eximbank was private and did not involve Nam A Bank.

Nam A Bank did not hold any share of Eximbank, Tan said.

An official of the State Bank of Viet Nam said the central bank has still not approved the list of candidates for Eximbank's Board of Directors, so it was too early to comment on any possible merger.

Nam A Bank currently has 60 transaction offices with a charter capital of VND3.021 trillion (US$134.26 million). Its total asset and profits reached VND37.293 trillion ($1.65 billion) and VND242 billion ($10.75 million), respectively, at the end of last year. The bank this year has a target to increase its total asset to VND40 trillion ($1.77 billion), pre-tax profits of VND360 billion ($16 million) and non-performing loans of less than three per cent of total outstanding loans. — VNS