Vietcombank set for lower profit as lending slows
Vietcombank set for lower profit as lending slows
Vietcombank’s profits are set to decline for the first time since 2013 due to slower credit growth amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a brokerage forecast.
The logo of Vietcombank is seen on an ATM in Hanoi. Photo by Shutterstock/Asia Images.
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The country’s most profitable lender’s pre-tax profit could fall by 1.6 percent to VND22.75 trillion ($984 million) this year after credit growth in the first nine months virtually halved year-on-year to 6.5 percent, RongViet Securities Corporation (VDSC) in Ho Chi Minh City said in a note.
Provision for bad debts in the period rose 25 percent to VND6 trillion as companies suspended business.
Its investment in securities resulted in a loss of VND14.5 billion as against a profit of VND116.5 billion last year.
RongViet forecast 16 percent growth in pre-tax profit next year at VND26.37 trillion if the pandemic is under control by then.
The bank signed an exclusive bancassurance deal with insurance firm FWD, which will give it $400 million in prepaid fees for the next five years.
That will help increase the bank’s top line this quarter by 23 percent year-on-year, the brokerage said.
