Vietnam's largest lender Vietcombank sees H1 net profit up 2% on cost cuts

Vietcombank, the largest bank in Vietnam by market capitalization, booked a consolidated net profit of VND16,699 billion ($660.8 million) in the first half of this year, up 1.77% year-on-year, despite decreases in incomes from major segments.

Net income from lending activities, the biggest source, slid 4.5% year-on-year to VND27,986 billion ($1.11 billion) in the six-month period, the Hanoi-based bank said in its quarterly financial statements.

Incomes from services, forex trading, securities trading, and diverse all declined from the same period last year.

The bank managed to cut its costs for credit loss provisions by 33.7% to VND3,022 billion ($119.6 million), which helped it achieve a profit increase.

At end-June, Vietcombank, with 15% owned by Japan’s Mizuho Bank, had total assets of VND1,905.64 trillion ($75.4 billion), up 3.6% from end-2023.

Of the amount, deposits at the central bank totaled VND35,736 billion ($1.41 billion), down 38.5% from six months earlier. Customer loans grew 7.5% to VND1,334.8 trillion.

On the other side, customer deposits dipped 1.5% from end-2023 to VND1,374.7 trillion ($54.4 billion).

The bank’s non-performing loans swelled 32% to VND16,446 billion ($650.75 million), or 1.2% of its total lending, up from 0.98% as of end-2023.

Shares of Vietcombank, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as VCB, ended up 1.94% at VND89,200 ($3.53) apiece on Wednesday, giving the bank a market cap of VND496.31 trillion ($19.64 billion), the biggest among listed companies in the country.