Techcombank expects to be approved for adopting Basel II standards this year, one year before the goal set by the State Bank of Viet Nam.— Photo infomoney.vn

Thanks to a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) at 13.8 per cent by the end of the first quarter of the year, Techcombank expects to be approved for adopting Basel II standards this year, one year before the goal set by the State Bank of Viet Nam.

The information was released at a press meeting held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

Trinh Bang, Techcombank’s chief finance officer, said the firm was the best capitalised bank in Viet Nam and best positioned to deliver growth.

Techcombank delivered its 14th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in revenue. The bank reported a record first-quarter revenue and before-tax profit of VND4.2 trillion (US$179.4 million) and VND2.6 trillion. Excluding recoveries and one-time events, total revenues increased 17.6 per cent from the same period last year with growth in lending and non-lending income.

“If we have growth in one, two or three quarters, it might be lucky. But we have grown 14 consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of 2015, showing Techcombank has a very good strategy,” Nguyen Le Quoc Anh, Techcombank’s CEO said.

Lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continued to see strong results, growing 52.5 per cent year-on-year.

In retail banking, Le Thi Bich Phuong, head of Personal Financial Services Department said its customer centric strategy continued to deliver.

Its retail loans in the January-March period grew by 31 per cent from the same period last year.

The bank continues to reduce cash transaction in the economy. As of the end of the first quarter, Techcombank became entrenched as the market leader in total payment volume in both VISA debit and credit cards, growing 18 per cent and 6.2 per cent annually. — VNS