Banks see mixed performances in forex trading
Banks see mixed performances in forex trading
Many banks counted significant profits from forex business last year, but some declined or even counted losses in this segment.
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State lender BIDV led in forex trading revenue last year, earning $214.4 million, up 14 per cent on-year, maintaining its top position in this segment.
Following BIDV were Vietcombank and VietinBank. Although Vietcombank’s forex trading profits declined by 7 per cent last year, it still earned $211.7 million, meanwhile, VietinBank raked in a net profit of $167.6 million from forex trading in 2024, down just 1 per cent on-year.
Among joint-stock banks, Military Bank (MB) continued to lead the rankings, generating $80 million from forex trading, marking a 65 per cent growth on-year. Its ranking remained unchanged from the end of Q3 of 2024.
Southern lender ACB also saw significant improvements, with net forex trading income reaching $46.8 million, up 5 per cent year-on-year.
Sacombank, MSB, and HDBank posted forex trading net income of $44.3 million (up 1 per cent), $42.2 million (down 1 per cent), and $33.7 million (up 49 per cent), respectively.
Tech-driven VPBank also has a positive result, earning $33.08 million from forex trading in 2024, a major turnaround from its $32.2 million loss in 2023. Eximbank’s forex trading profits saw a 39 per cent jump, reaching $27 million.
In terms of growth rate, Techcombank posted the highest increase in net forex trading profits in the industry, with a 203 per cent rise to $23.7 million. Similarly, BVBank posted a triple-digit growth rate, with a 109 per cent increase, reaching $1.84 million last year.
By contrast, 14 banks saw sharp declines in their forex trading profits, and some, including VietABank, Bac A Bank, Saigonbank, PGBank, Nam A Bank, and Kienlongbank, reported losses in this segment.
Specifically, VietABank’s forex trading loss approximated $40,000, Bac A Bank incurred $2.72 million losses from this segment, Saigonbank’s forex trading profits declined by 44 per cent on-year, just counting $76,000.
PGBank saw a 98 per cent decline, earning just $12,000, while Nam A Bank’s profits in this segment shrank by 80 per cent to just $120,000.
TPBank’s net forex trading income declined by 59 per cent on-year, but still brought $12.8 million from the business. Meanwhile, SHB’s forex trading profits fell by 70 per cent, leaving the bank with only $3.4 million in net income from this segment.
A total of 11 out of 27 banks reported an increase in net forex trading profits in 2024. The total net forex trading income of these 27 banks, based on their financial reports, came to nearly $1.03 billion, up 10 per cent on-year.
Looking ahead to 2025, exchange rate movements are expected to remain complex, similar to 2024, due to the impact of US President Donald Trump's unconventional policies and Vietnam’s relatively low foreign exchange reserves.
On a more optimistic note, Vietcombank Securities believes the forex market in 2025 could see positive developments, driven by the trend of monetary easing by central banks worldwide. This could create opportunities for capital inflows into economies with stable macroeconomic conditions, including Vietnam.
Vietcombank Securities experts predict that the USD-VND exchange rate will fluctuate within a 3 per cent range throughout 2025.
