The Alluring Unveiling: Unmasking the 1% Shareholders of Commercial Banks

According to the new Law on Credit Institutions, banks are now required to disclose information about shareholders owning 1% or more of their charter capital. Additionally, the list of related individuals and organizations has been significantly expanded.

After the banks disclosed the list of shareholders owning 1% of their charter capital, many real estate tycoons, who are major shareholders in these banks, came to light.

One notable example is ABBank (ABB), where Geleximco Group, chaired by Mr. Vu Van Tien, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of ABBank’s Board of Directors, holds 132.2 million ABB shares, equivalent to 12.78% of the bank’s capital. Furthermore, Glexhomes JSC owns 45.8 million ABB shares, representing a 4.43% stake.

HDBank (HDB) counts Sovico Corporation, a real estate company associated with billionaire Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, among its shareholders. Sovico holds 417.7 million HDB shares, equivalent to a 14.27% stake.

At the Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), there are 13 institutional shareholders owning 1% or more of its charter capital, many of which are engaged in real estate-related businesses. These include Ben Thanh Total Services JSC with a 4.96% stake, Binh An House Investment JSC with 4.74%, HVR Investment JSC with 3.85%, Greenwave Capital JSC with 4.44%, No. 8 Binh Thuan Electrical Construction and Installation Investment JSC with 3.27%, Tay Ninh Industrial Park Infrastructure Development JSC with 3.25%, and Hve Renewable Energy JSC with 3.14%.

At the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), there are 11 shareholders owning 1% or more of its charter capital. VNPT holds nearly 121 million MSB shares, equivalent to a 6.05% stake, while TNG Holdings owns nearly 5.4% of MSB’s capital. Other significant shareholders include ROX Key Holdings with a 2.43% stake, TNL Asset Investment and Leasing JSC with 1.08%, and ROX Cons Construction and Investment JSC with 1.87%. Three other enterprises each hold nearly 5% of the bank’s capital: Bai Dai Resort JSC with 4.96%, Hanoi Green Technology City JSC with 4.97%, and Hanoi Industrial Park Infrastructure Construction and Investment JSC – Dai Tu with 4.98%.

Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) has also disclosed its list of shareholders owning over 1% of its charter capital. Mr. Tran Hung Huy, Chairman of ACB’s Board of Directors, is the largest individual shareholder, holding over 153 million shares, equivalent to a 3.427% stake. Related parties to Mr. Huy own 367 million shares, representing an 8.218% stake.

There are three organizations related to the ACB Chairman that hold over 1% of the bank’s capital: Giang Son Trading and Investment JSC with 80.3 million shares (2.07%), Van Mon Trading and Investment JSC with nearly 44.4 million shares (1.14%), and Bach Thanh Trading and Investment JSC with nearly 55.9 million shares (1.44%).

Experts view the disclosure of shareholders owning 1% or more of a bank’s capital as a necessary measure to address cross-ownership issues.

The amended Law on Credit Institutions, which took effect on July 1st, reduced the ownership limit for institutional shareholders (including indirect ownership) from 15% to 10%, while the limit for shareholders and related parties was lowered from 20% to 15%. The ownership limit for individual shareholders remains unchanged at 5%.

The definition of related parties has also been expanded. As of July 1st, shareholders and related parties who own shares exceeding the new limits are allowed to maintain their holdings but are not permitted to increase them, except in the case of receiving dividends in shares.

Furthermore, banks are now required to disclose information about shareholders owning 1% or more of their capital and their related parties. This provision is part of the amended Law on Credit Institutions, which was passed by the National Assembly on January 18th, 2024. The law imposes stricter regulations on shareholder ownership ratios and transparency requirements for banks.