Big 4 banks estimate positive business results in 2024

A Vietcombank's transaction office in Hà Nội. By mid-December this year, Vietcombank essentially completed targets and plans set for 2024. Photo cafef.vn

Leaders of the country’s four largest banks (the Big 4 group) BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank and Agribank have announced their preliminary positive business results for 2024.

BIDV’s chairman Phan Đức Tú estimates that by the end of this year, the bank will increase its total assets to more than VNĐ2.6 quadrillion, while its outstanding loans will reach nearly VNĐ2 quadrillion, up about 14 per cent compared to last year.

Meanwhile, Vietcombank’s chairman Nguyễn Thanh Tùng announced that by mid-December, his bank had essentially completed all its targets and plans set for 2024. It is estimated that by the end of this year, the bank’s total assets will reach nearly VNĐ2 quadrillion, while credit growth will reach 13 per cent to more than VNĐ1.4 quadrillion and the bad debt ratio will be controlled below one per cent.

At VietinBank, chairman Trần Minh Bình said that by the end of November, the bank's total assets were estimated to reach more than VNĐ2.3 quadrillion, up 14.7 per cent compared to 2023.

VietinBank has also reported the highest credit growth rate. Its outstanding loans as of December 10 this year increased by 14.8 per cent compared to the beginning of this year, while the bad debt ratio was controlled at 1.1 per cent and the bad debt coverage ratio continued to remain high. During the period, the bank raised a total capital of nearly VNĐ1.7 trillion, up 11.3 per cent.

Agribank’s general director Phạm Toàn Vượng expects that by the end of this year, the bank will achieve its highest business results from the past four years. Of which, the bank’s total assets are estimated to increase by 7 per cent, capital sources by more than 6 per cent, outstanding loans by 11 per cent, pre-tax profit by 8 per cent and bad debt ratio to be below 1.6 per cent.

According to Vượng, by November 30, Agribank restructured debt repayment terms and kept the debt group unchanged for 7,300 customers, with total outstanding loans of more than VNĐ55 trillion. In addition, the bank reduced interest rates for loans of 25,000 Typhoon Yagi affected customers amounting to more than VNĐ39 trillion.

To prepare for next year, the bank leaders have put forward a number of solutions to counter any negative financial headwinds.

Vietcombank’s chairman Tùng proposed that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) manages monetary policy cautiously, but flexibly to adapt to the changing context.

Tùng also recommended that the Government should soon issue a policy to allow State-owned banks to increase their charter capital from annual retained earnings.

VietinBank's chairman Bình suggested the SBV study a mechanism allowing banks to set aside a reserve fund for operational risks, including information technology risks.

Meanwhile, Vượng of Agribank proposed that the Government and competent authorities have appropriate regulations on handling bad debts and collateral assets of bad debts to support banks in better recovering the debts.

He also proposed that the management authorities should consider a separate mechanism to increase charter capital for State-owned banks. Agribank expects to receive at least VNĐ10 trillion per year from 2025 to meet Basel II standards. The additional capital is sourced from Agribank's annual actual profits.