Vietnam International Bank (VIB) has announced pre-tax profits of nearly VND2.3 trillion in the first quarter of this year (Q1), up 26 per cent year-on-year.

VIB attributed its impressive increase in Q1 pre-tax profit to its focus on a high-quality retail credit portfolio, with the ratio of retail loans accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the credit portfolio, in which 95 per cent of the portfolio was collateral.

The bank’s return on equity ratio (ROE) was 30 per cent, among the highest in the banking industry.

During the three months, VIB saw total operating income surpassing VND4.1 trillion. Of the sum, net interest income reached VND3.5 trillion, marking a yearly hike of 27 per cent, while non-interest income hit VND650 billion, contributing 16 per cent to the bank’s total operating income.

The bank’s outstanding loans topped nearly VND217 trillion, and its capital mobilisation experienced positive growth of 7.7 per cent to reach VND302 trillion. Meanwhile, the bank also posted credit growth of 6.1 per cent in the three months.

Net profit margin (NIM) experienced an increase of 4.5 per cent in the period, thanks to a year-on-year decline of 40 basis points in funding costs.

NIM expansion mainly came from current and saving account (CASA) growth of more than 40 per cent and loans from foreign financial institutions, which increased by nearly 80 per cent over the same period last year.

These sources of capital helped VIB keep its mobilising costs at a low level despite the slight increase in interest rates in the market.

Meanwhile, the bank's cost-income ratio (CIR) fell to its most efficient level ever at 35 per cent, proving its outstanding performance in cost management and increasing profitability. In addition, credit costs were managed at a low-level thanks to effective risk management and control.

VIB is striving to reach 10 million customers by 2026, focusing on developing a customer ecosystem on a variety of smart financial platforms.

In the first quarter, VIB announced the expansion of the card opening ecosystem in the Bizverse World virtual environment, bringing a new experience of opening virtual credit cards to Vietnamese users.

With this move, VIB became one of the first banks in the country to offer customers a variety of card opening channels from those in real space and the virtual world, at branches and in leading e-commerce platforms in the country and region.

With the strategy of developing an unlimited card opening ecosystem, VIB is expected to provide the market with 2.5 million credit cards in the next five years, thus contributing to stronger cashless payment activities. — VNS