Commercial banks all can anticipate a sharp fall in profits this year because of Covid-19, though they faced difficulties later than other businesses.
Eximbank’s managers have submitted to the board of directors a new business plan under which the pre-tax profit would be VND1.318 trillion, or 40 percent lower than initially planned.
A representative of Eximbank said the profit from the core business field is expected to see a 10.3 percent decrease, but the total profit is still hoped to increase by 22 percent compared with 2019.
The bank has set up a plan on cutting the operation cost sharply, by another 11 percent compared with the plan set earlier this year, about VND326 billion. It has projected an 8 percent decrease in mobilised capital and 4 percent decrease in outstanding loans.
Eximbank is the first bank that made public the adjusted business plan for this year.
The impact of the epidemic on commercial banks have become clearer, but not many banks have given exact figures about business results or released predictions about the possible impact on profit.
Prior to that, NamA Bank, in its latest annual report, mentioned the consolidated pre-tax profit of 13.47 percent compared with 2019. However, it still has not made any official announcement.
Meanwhile, many other banks still maintain profit growth plans they set earlier this year before the epidemic broke out.
BIDV, for example, at the shareholders’ meeting held in early March, projected 16 percent profit growth rate for this year, if the epidemic lasted until the end of March.
Kien Long Bank, at its shareholders’ meeting, set a plan to increase profit by 8.7 times. However, the bank said it would adjust business plans in accordance with the performance of the epidemic.
Eximbank reported that its 2,221 clients, who borrowed VND16 trillion, or 10 percent of its total outstanding loans, bear impact from Covid-19. The bank has been extending the principal and interest payment deadlines for 696 clients with the total outstanding loans of VND4.572 trillion. It plans to do this with 1.061 clients with VND6.566 trillion.
Eximbank’s CEO Nguyen Canh Vinh said Covid-19 has forced banks to adjust their business plans.
The State Bank of Vietnam’s deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, at a meeting between the prime minister and businesses in mid-April, said state-owned banks have to sacrifice 40 percent of their profit to cut lending interest rates to support businesses.
BIDV’s Research and Training Institute estimated that the banking sector may lose VND30-40 trillion worth of profit this year because of interest rate cuts, debt payment extension and lower credit growth rate.
