Commonwealth Bank of Australia to entirely divest from Vietnam bank VIB

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will completely divest its remaining 4.4% stake in Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB).

In a Wednesday statement, the Australian bank said the transaction was executed on March 5 and the settlement is set to take place on March 7.

The Vietnamese bank is listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as VIB.

Total gross proceeds to be received by CBA from the transaction are approximately AUD170 million ($106.8 million).

The divestment followed CBA's sales of a 10% VIB stake in October 2024. CBA said the transaction is consistent with its strategy to focus on its banking businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

CBA has been a shareholder in VIB since 2010 and has supported the company in becoming one of the leading joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam.

According to the list of 18 shareholders holding 1% or more of VIB's charter capital, announced by the bank in August 2024, CBA was the largest shareholder with more than 503 million bank shares, or a nearly 19.84% stake.

VIB’s audited post-tax profit reached VND3,684 billion ($150 million) in the first half of 2024, down 18.4% year-on-year. The lender made a net interest income of VND7,981 billion in the period, down 8.3% year-on-year.

As of end-June 2024, the bank’s total asset grew 5.1% to VND430,962 billion ($17.55 billion). Its loans to customers reached VND273,996 billion, while customer deposits were VND247,630 billion.