Maritime Bank mulls merger with local bank: executive

Vietnam’s Maritime Bank (MSB) is looking to merge with a local bank that it deems suitable to its development orientation, helping the lender to expand more rapidly, a senior executive said.

MSB is preparing to submit the plan at its upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders for approval, with PGBank one of the banks being considered, he said, declining to be named.

In May 2020, Hoang Xuan Hiep, who had served as deputy CEO at MSB, moved to PGBank and is currently deputy CEO in charge of debt collection and legal affairs.

In November 2020, Nguyen Phi Hung, former MSB deputy CEO was also appointed acting CEO of PGBank and now CEO.

According to the PGBank website, Nilesh Banglorewala, former chief financial officer and chief accountant of MSB, and Oliver Schwarzhaupt, former CEO cum head of the risk management division at MSB, were named PGBank board members in April 2021 and April 2022, respectively.

Do Thanh Cong, deputy CEO in charge of re-appraisal and approval, who joined PGBank on February 1, 2023, held important positions at MSB, such as a member of the Credit and investment Council, a member of the Risk Management Committee, and a member of the Risk Management Council.

MSB intends to hold its annual general meeting of shareholders on April 21 to report on its performance in 2022 and approve plans for 2023.

Currently, PGBank has a charter capital of VND3 trillion ($127.77 million), with gasoline retail giant Petrolimex being the only major shareholder holding more than a 5% stake.

Petrolimex has announced that it had been permitted by the State Securities Commission to offer 120 million PGB shares, or 40% of its total, to the public via an auction on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE). With a starting price of VND21,300 ($0.91) per share, the offering value stands at VND2.56 trillion ($108.86 million).

MSB was set up in 1991 and now operates more than 60 branches and over 200 transaction offices across Vietnam. It is listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as MSB.

As of the end of December 2022, the lender’s total assets were around VND213 trillion (over $9 billion). Its current charter capital is VND20 trillion (over $848 million). MSB is one of the most efficient medium-sized credit institutions in Vietnam.

The bank’s long-term deposit and issuer ratings were labeled “B1” by international ratings agency Moody’s in September 2022, while the outlook rating was “stable” over the following 12-18 months.

On the stock market, MSB closed the Thursday session at VND12,500 ($0.53).