Top national awards vindicate Techcombank growth strategy: CEO

Winning FinanceAsia’s latest Best Bank and Most Innovative Use of Technology in Vietnam awards vindicates Techombank’s growth strategy and the talent of its employees, the bank’s head honcho says.

A Monday press release quoted the bank’s CEO Jens Lottner as saying: “We are deeply proud to win these awards which is a testament to the strength of our strategy and the talent of our Techcombank colleagues to bring innovative solutions to our customers leveraging market-leading technology platforms.”

At the 27th edition of awards instituted by leading regional markets publication FinanceAsia, Techcombank won 2022’s Best Bank in Vietnam and Most Innovative Use of Technology in Vietnam awards.

“It remains an incredibly exciting time in Vietnam with enormous potential to scale and grow sustainably. Our focus remains solely on leading the digital transformation of Vietnam and leaving a positive, long-lasting legacy for the nation,” Lottner said.

The release noted that the FinanceAsia recognizes the best banks, brokers and rating agencies across the continent. In its latest edition, the awards were judged against the context of regeneration and resilience in Asian capital markets amidst a slower-than-expected economic rebound.

Particular attention was paid to progress and innovation in key topic areas including digital transformation that are contributing to a new direction in business decision-making across the region.

Techcombank’s victory in the two categories underscored the strength of its digital transformation strategy based on the three pillars of Digital, Data and Talent – and consistent progress with respect to these pillars, the release said.

The awards also reflected the financial strength of Techcombank, particularly its strong performance over the most recent financial year, despite an especially challenging operating environment.

This included growth across all core revenue streams, rises in profit before tax (PBT) and total operating income (TOI), and multiple sector-leading achievements including: No.1 in payments volumes across all card types, highest return on assets (RoA) and capital adequacy ratio, and a current accounts and saving accounts (CASA) ratio that remains among the healthiest in the industry.

The awards’ timing also coincided with Techcombank’s 30th anniversary, when it has renewed its commitment to Change Banking, Change Lives.

Started in 1993 with a charter capital of just VND20 billion ($843,300), Techcombank is now the third largest bank in Vietnam by charter capital. It has over 11.2 million retail and corporate customers and 12,000 staff in over 46 Vietnamese cities and provinces.

The release said Techombank remained relentlessly focused on innovation and technology, which as its original name – Technology Commercial Bank – suggests, has been a fundamental part of the bank’s heritage and culture.

To enforce its ‘Digital’ and ‘Data’ pillars, the bank has invested in an increasing number of cutting-edge digital platforms and cloud transformation initiatives, enabling the bank to deliver a bespoke banking experience and cultivate partnership-led growth.

Over the last several years, Techcombank has entered important partnerships with the likes of Salesforce and Adobe to deliver hyper-personalised banking experiences in real time; or with Amazon Web Services to move a majority of Techcombank’s applications to the cloud, thereby laying the foundation for serving customers.

The bank has also partnered with MISA, a leading accounting software provider in Vietnam, to offer unrivalled services to its SME customers including financial accounting and operations management solutions.

As part of efforts to strengthen its ‘Talent’ pillar, the bank focuses on enhancing the experience of employees with constant training and upskilling.

In 2022, Techcombank employees received nearly 900,000 hours of training – equivalent to 70 hours per employee – through virtual classroom, e-learning and in-class sessions. Techcombank was also the first Vietnamese bank to organize overseas talent roadshows in Singapore, London, San Francisco, and Sydney.