Eximbank (EIB) and Sacombank (STB) on January 29 signed a five-year cooperation agreement which will pave a way for a likely merger between two of the biggest commercial banks in Vietnam.
Following that, the two banks will seek approvals from their shareholders and relevant State authorities for a merger in the next three to five years. Eximbank Chairman of the Board of Directors Le Hung Dung said if the merger was realised, the merger bank would have a total charter capital of more than 30 trillion VND (1.428 billion USD). Eximbank is now a major shareholder of Sacombank with a 9.73 percent stake. According to the press release from Eximbank, increased cooperation in various fields between the two banks will help both parties overcome difficulties in the time of economic crisis, enhance their competitiveness and contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnam’s banking system. At the present time, the two banks will collaborate with each other in providing customer loans in the form of co-financing or trust fund lending. At the same time, they will assign a capital limit to each other on the interbank market to enhance their mutual liquidity while optimising their capital sources.In addition, the two sides will support each other in gold and foreign exchange businesses, helping manage foreign exchange states of each party in accordance with the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam. Eximbank’s charter capital reached almost 12.36 trillion VND (591.1 million USD) and its assets totaled over 160 trillion VND (7.66 billion USD) by the end of September last year. Meanwhile, charter capital of Sacombank is now 10.74 trillion VND (513.9 million USD) and its total assets were 147 trillion VND (7 billion USD).
Source: VNA
