Vietnam’s Eximbank moves headquarters to Hanoi

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country's central bank, on Tuesday okayed Eximbank's (HoSE: EIB) plan to move its headquarters from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.

The new address of the mid-sized bank is No. 27-29 Ly Thai To street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi. Hoan Kiem is home to the headquarters of the SBV and other leading banks such as Vietcombank (HoSE: VCB), VietinBank (HoSE: CTG), and BIDV (HoSE: BID).

Its current headquarters is located at Vincom Center building, 72 Le Thanh Ton, District 1, HCMC - the largest economic hub in the south.

Previously, the relocation had been approved at the bank's 2024 extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held in November 2024.

At this meeting, Nguyen Hoang Hai, acting general director of Eximbank, said: "Eximbank has been operating in Ho Chi Minh City for 35 years and has not increased its customer base in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, other banks have grown and spread across the country".

At the 2025 AGM held in April 2025, Eximbank's leaders stated that when the relocation is approved by competent authorities, the bank will certainly have the most reasonable plan on personnel arrangement, in line with its operational needs and development strategy for the coming period.

In the current context, digital banking is developing very strongly, so many job positions can be organized flexibly. Therefore, depending on the nature of each position, there will be staff working directly in Hanoi, but some others might be arranged to work from HCMC or remotely if suitable for job requirements, they added.

In a document sent to shareholders on November 5, 2024, Eximbank’s leadership argued that the dynamic northern market holds vast potential to tap in, in addition to enhancing its footing in the south. Therefore, the bank aims to expand its network in the north.

Furthermore, moving to Hoan Kiem district, which is Hanoi’s crucial administrative, commercial and service center, is a “strategic move” that will help the bank scale up its operations and implement its business strategy effectively.

In a regulatory disclosure in October 2024, Eximbank said that state-controlled Vietcombank had emerged as the second largest shareholder with a 4.51% stake. Gelex Group (HoSE: GEX) remained the largest shareholder with 10%. The third largest shareholder was VIX Securities JSC (HoSE: VIX) with 3.58%. All these shareholders are headquartered in Hanoi.

According to the financial statements for Q1/2025, Eximbank's profit after tax reached VND658.4 billion ($25.21 million), up 24.8% over the same period of 2024.

On the balance sheet, its total assets at the end of Q1 reached nearly VND251,133 billion ($9.61 billion), up 4.7% compared to the beginning of the year. Of which, customer loans reached nearly VND180,337 billion, up 9.1%. The ratio of bad debt to total outstanding loans was 2.58%, up from 2.53% at the end of 2024.

Customer deposits at Eximbank reached VND175,759 billion ($6.73 billion), up 4.9% compared to the beginning of the year. Of which, demand deposits reached VND25,287.6 billion, accounting for 14.3% of total deposits.

Eximbank targets a consolidated pre-tax profit of VND5.2 trillion ($200 million) for 2025, an increase of VND1 billion or 23.8% compared to 2024, marking the bank's record-high profit. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio is expected to decrease to 1.99%.

EIB shares traded at VND23,250 ($0.89) apiece on Thursday.