Former HSBC CEO takes lead role at OCB

Pham Hong Hai, former CEO of HSBC Vietnam, has been appointed general director of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange-listed Orient Commercial JS Bank (OCB).

Hai has signed a three-year contract, starting Wednesday (July 16), the bank said in a decision, signed by chairman Trinh Van Tuan.

Hai was appointed acting general director of the bank in early May, replacing Nguyen Dinh Tung, who had served in the post for 12 years.

Hai, 50, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Economics HCMC. He held several positions at HSBC Vietnam before becoming its CEO in December 2014. He left the post in September 2019 to take on a position at HSBC Canada, and quit HSBC in 2023 after 28 years at the bank.

Before joining OCB, Hai was deputy chairman of Hanoi-based Thien Viet Securities Company.

In his new post, Hai plans to speed up digitalization, automation, and simplification of procedures, as well as focus on the bank's green strategy.

HCMC-based OCB has charter capital of VND20,548.24 billion ($809.6 million), ranking among the mid-sized lenders in Vietnam.

At its AGM in April, the bank set a pre-tax profit target of VND6,885 billion ($271.3 million) for this year, up 66% year-on-year. It plans to focus on retail banking and SMEs.

The bank earned a consolidated pre-tax profit of VND1,214 billion ($47.85 million) in Q1, up 23.5% year-on-year, according to its financial statements.

Shares in OCB closed down 0.35% at VND14,400 ($0.57) on Monday.