Making Fat Profits, Banks Pay Big Dividends

Banks all have reported profits for Q1

VP Bank has reported combined pre-tax profit of VND2.619 trillion for the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 36 percent over the same period last year. 

This is the highest Q1 profit the bank can gain so far, which is equal to 24 percent of the year’s business plan and far higher than the 15 percent target set by the shareholders’ meeting.

HDBank, which entered the bourse in early 2018, has reported impressive business results with the Q1 profit of VND1.045 trillion, or three times higher than the same period last year.

Smaller banks had profits lower than VND1 trillion in Q1, but witnessed growth rates of several times. TP Bank, for example, made a profit of VND513 billion, or 2.4 times higher than the same period last year, while SHB’s profit increased by 64 percent and VIB’s increased by 3.3 times.

VP bank’s board of management announced a high dividend of 30.2 percent following a prosperous 2017. 

“This is the highest ever dividend,” said vice chair Bui Hai Quan, adding that the dividend payment would be made soon after the plan gets State Bank approval.

VIB Bank said it would pay 36 percent in dividends to shareholders, which includes 5 percent in cash and 31 percent in bonus shares.

The list of the banks offering highest dividends includes HD Bank. Its 2018 shareholders’ meeting decided to pay 35 percent, of which 15 percent is in cash and 20 percent in bonus shares.

With the payment, HD Bank’s shareholders can get double profits, because the bank’s share price soared to VND42,800 per share, up by 30 percent compared with earlier this year, when it began listing shares.

Asked about the reasons behind the decision to pay high dividends, a banker said commercial banks are thriving; they have cleared many bad debts and successfully made divestments.

While joint stock banks offer big dividends, large state-owned banks only offer modest one-digit dividends. BIDV, for example, decided to pay 7 percent, and Vietcombank 8 percent.

However, the shareholders of the banks may feel luckier than other banks which have not paid dividends in the last  eight to 10 years.

Techcombank’s board of management, for the eighth consecutive year, plans not to pay 2017 dividends, saying that the unused profit of VND9.345 trillion gained from previous years has been used to increase the bank’s capital.

Meanwhile, Sacombank’s president Duong Cong Minh said the bank still cannot pay 2016 and 2017 dividends because it is undergoing restructuring.

US$1=VND22,000

RELATED NEWS

Top-tier banks overthrown, junior banks rise up

Commercial banks report high profits in 2017

Mai Thanh