PGBank appoints new CEO ahead of meet heralding far-reaching changes

PG Bank’s board of directors has appointed Pham Manh Thang as the Vietnamese lender’s new CEO ahead of its extraordinary general meeting next month that’s expected to usher in major changes.

The five-year appointment takes effect Friday. Thang, 61, has a PhD in economics from the Banking Academy of Vietnam, a BS in applied mathematics from Hanoi University of Science & Technology and a BA in economics from National Economics University.

Before PGBank, Thang was with “Big 4” lender Vietcombank for more than 30 years.

From September 1991 to December 2002, Thang worked at Vietcombank’s Quang Ninh branch, with highest position as deputy manager. Then, he became manager of Vietcombank’s Hai Duong branch (December 2002-March 2014), and later deputy general director of Vietcombank until his official retirement in May 2023.

In July 2023, PGBank appointed Thang as acting CEO as it made several leadership changes. By late August 2023, two members of its board of directors, Oliver Schwarzhaupt and Nilesh Ratilal Banglorewala, announced they would step down, as did head of the bank's supervisory board Duong Anh Tuyet.

Their resignation letters will be submitted for approval at the EGM of PGBank, which is scheduled to take place in October 2023, at a hotel in Ninh Binh province.

Besides leadership reorganization, the EGM will focus on three priorities, it has been reported. PGBank is said to have a plan to raise its chartered capital, change its trade name and headquarters, and restructure its 2021-2025 bad debt provisions.

PGBank has been undergoing major changes after capital withdrawal by its big shareholder, Petrolimex, in April 2023. Petrolimex held a public auction for 120 million shares that it owned. Three investors are reported to have bought these at $21,400 ($0.88) per share.

One day after the transaction, Cuong Phat International JSC, Vu Anh Duc Trading JSC, and Gia Linh Export-Import and Trading Development Co. Ltd., announced they would become new shareholders of PGBank, owning 13.54%, 13.66% and 13.1% respectively. Their equity purchases were approved by the State Bank of Vietnam late last month.

In 2022, PG Bank's pre-tax profit reached VND506 billion ($21.58 million), up 54% year-on-year and exceeding its target by 24%.

As of December 31, 2022, PG Bank's total assets were nearly VND49 trillion ($2.09 billion), up about 21% compared to the end of 2021. Credit increased by 5.6%, while capital mobilization rose by more than 11%.