Specifically, Sacombank’s pre-tax profit for the fourth quarter of 2023 reached VND 2,755 billion, an increase of 45% compared to the same period in 2022. For the whole year 2023, the bank achieved a pre-tax profit of VND 9,595 billion, an increase of 51% compared to 2022, exceeding the plan set by the Shareholders’ General Meeting. This is a commendable achievement for Sacombank in the context of the domestic economy facing many difficulties and the global financial market experiencing strong fluctuations.
An important highlight in Sacombank’s business results is that the bank has completed a 100% provision for unrecovered VAMC bad debt, this is one of the important targets of the Sacombank restructuring project. With the completion of the provision, Sacombank has solved one of the key factors that have caused the bank’s profit to decline in recent years. This will help Sacombank improve the quality of assets and increase profitability in the future.
As of the end of 2023, Sacombank’s total assets reached over VND 674 trillion, an increase of 13.9% compared to the beginning of the year. Total mobilization reached over VND 578 trillion, an increase of 11.3%, with a focus on increasing CASA deposits by 8.8%. Throughout the year, Sacombank has continuously reduced the deposit interest rate by about 4% compared to the beginning of the year, and the current highest deposit interest rate is only around 5%. The consolidated CAR ratio was 9.11%, the LDR ratio reached 82.77%, the NIM ratio was 3.9%, and the ROA and ROE ratios were 1.22% and 18.30% respectively, an increase of 0.31 and 4.47%. Recently, Sacombank was awarded the certification of successful implementation of the BASEL III risk management standards by EY Vietnam JSC, becoming the next bank in Vietnam to successfully apply this high-level risk management standard.
The bank also reduced operating costs, administrative procedures, and unnecessary expenses to have room to reduce lending interest rates to support and accompany the business community and the people in overcoming difficulties. Accordingly, Sacombank has implemented VND 131.5 trillion in preferential interest rate loans to support customers in developing production and business and stimulate credit growth. Specifically, VND 56,000 billion is earmarked for loans with interest rates from 3% for over 3,000 businesses accessing capital, and VND 75,500 billion is earmarked for loans with interest rates from 6% for over 35,000 individual customers accessing capital. Thanks to this, lending reached nearly VND 483 trillion, an increase of 10%.
Along with the common difficulties of the economy, non-performing loans are an inevitable issue, however, the positive point is that Sacombank still maintains good control and improves the quality of assets, with profitable assets accounting for nearly 90%, and the bad debt ratio is controlled at 2.1%.
The bank has also invested many resources in digitization activities to grasp the trends of the times and improve product and service offerings, enhancing customer experience. The bank has actively responded to the directions of the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in implementing measures to stimulate the economy, promoting non-cash payments by launching a series of preferential programs with waived or reduced fees since the beginning of the year, focused mainly on digital transactions. Sacombank recorded transaction volume through online channels reaching over VND 6.4 quadrillion, an increase of 10% compared to the same period. However, the fee waiver/reduction policy has affected revenue, and time is needed to offset the initial investment costs.
In addition, in the context of the general difficulties of the insurance market, Sacombank has focused on standardizing the exclusive insurance distribution activities in a transparent and compliant manner with the regulations issued by the SBV, resulting in a decline in revenue from this business compared to the previous year.
According to Sacombank’s leaders’ sharing, customer experience includes a series of emotions and perceptions formed through continuous interaction with the brand. In addition to the quality of products and services, the quality of customer care also plays a significant role in determining and enhancing the customer experience. Based on that foundation, Sacombank has pioneered the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in launching the first ever Touchless IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system in the Vietnam market.
Alongside customer care activities, Sacombank has also deployed various modern payment methods through collaborations with Big Tech companies such as Apple, Samsung, and international card organizations such as VISA, Mastercard, American Express… A series of “hot trend” products and services have been introduced to the market by the bank in 2023, such as Apple Pay, cross-border QR code payment service in Cambodia… Sacombank has also actively developed the Open Banking model, thereby enhancing its cooperation with fintech companies, e-commerce platforms, and technology partners through API connections to deploy many convenient payment methods.
Currently, digital customers account for nearly 70% of Sacombank’s existing customer base, and this number is increasing every day.
