VIB has raised US$260 million in international syndicated loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) and nine Asian financial institutions.

The funding comprises a direct ADB loan of $100 million and a syndicated loan of $160 million arranged by ADB and United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) from nine banks headquartered in mainland China, Thailand, Taiwan, India, Cambodia and Singapore.

The syndicated loan agreement is expected to enhance access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), individual businesses and promote capital financing for quality housing for individual customers in Viet Nam, VIB said in a statement.

According to the agreement, VIB also cooperates with ADB to implement the Technical Assistance (TA) programme for female entrepreneurs with a budget of $500,000 from the Women Entrepreneurs Financial Initiative Fund (WE-FI). This is the first TA grant provided in Viet Nam that exclusively helps a bank to promote women's entrepreneurship.

“The agreement affirms our existing partnership with ADB and the parties’ efforts in promoting financial access for individual and SME clients," said CEO of VIB Han Ngoc Vu.

"This is a very timely action, especially in the context that SMEs are in great demand for capital to restore and develop production and business after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as contribute to the improvement of living conditions for individual customers,” Vu said.

ADB Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury emphasised the vital role of banks in addressing the issues of financial access for SMEs and individual household borrowers, to ensure an inclusive and sustainable development path for Viet Nam.

She added this agreement is one item of the project to strengthen Viet Nam's banking sector and help financing access become easier to individual customers and SMEs.

The successful mobilisation of foreign capital contributes to affirming VIB's brand reputation in the international financial market. Particularly in Viet Nam, VIB has continuously led the industry thanks to a solid and effective foundation for business, operations, digital transformation and risk management, successfully transformed into a retail banking model with a retail lending ratio of nearly 90 per cent of the credit portfolio, twice the industry average.

In the five years from 2017 to 2021, VIB's pre-tax profit increased 11 times; capital and total assets both increased three times. Since 2018, VIB has continuously been on the top of the industry and far exceeded the industry average in terms of operational efficiency with the return on equity (ROE) in 2021 reaching 31 per cent, 1.7 times higher than the average of the industry at 18 per cent.

After more than one year of listing on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, VIB stock is highly appreciated for its positive growth rate. As of December 31, 2021, VIB's market capitalisation reached more than $3.2 billion, ranking in the top five in terms of market capitalisation among joint-stock commercial banks. — VNS