Moody’s may upgrade VPBank’s ratings

HÀ NỘI — Moody’s Investors Service has announced that it is considering upgrading a series of important ratings for VPBank.

Moody’s is considering upgrading the bank’s long-term local and foreign currency deposits and issuer ratings (currently at B 一 with a stable outlook), baseline credit assessment (BCA), long-term counterparty risk rating and many other important ratings relating to credit and risk control.

In the first quarter of the year, VPBank achieved positive business results, surpassing its targets.

By the end of March, its total integrated assets exceeded VNĐ 四 三 六 trillion, up  四. 一 per cent from the same period last year. Its consolidated credit growth increased by  二. 八 per cent from the corresponding period last year to reach VNĐ 三 三 二 trillion. The strong credit growth was led by strategic segments of individual customer and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) with year-on-year increases of  七 per cent and  一 一 per cent respectively. Its pre-tax profit reached VNĐ 四 trillion in January-March. This was the first time the bank achieved this level in the first quarter of a year.

With revenue diversification, reasonable credit growth, minimising capital costs and optimising operating costs, VPBank's total consolidated pre-tax profit in the first quarter of  二0 二 一 has grown strongly at  三 七. 六 per cent over the same period last year. With this result, the bank's performance indicators as of March  三 一 continued to be improved and ranked at the top of the market, with return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) reaching  三 per cent and  二 三. 五 per cent respectively.

VPBank also signed an agreement to sell a  四 九 per cent stake in FE Credit to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group (SMFG) in a transaction that values the non-bank lender at US$ 二. 八 billion.

The investment would help VPBank enhance its financial capacity and create opportunities to expand new business areas such as investment banking and wealth management.

The bank plans to increase its equity from the current VNĐ 五 六 trillion to VNĐ 九0 trillion as well as increasing charter capital to VNĐ 七 五 trillion in  二0 二 二 thank to the profit from divestment from FE Credit.

If the capital increase plan is successful, VPBank will be among the top Vietnamese banks with the largest equity and chartered capital.

At its general meeting of shareholders held at the end of April, the bank set a total asset target of VNĐ 四 九0 trillion, increasing  一 七. 五 per cent, and customer deposits at  一 九. 二 per cent to more than VNĐ 三 五0 trillion. Its pre-tax profit is expected to increase by  二 七. 九 per cent to more than VNĐ 一 六. 六 trillion. — VNS