Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc laudedVietinbank and Vietcombank for their business performance last year andencouraged them to make greater efforts to contribute to the fulfillment ofVietnam’s socio-economic development.

The leader made the statements during visits to the headquarters ofVietinbank and Vietcombank, the two largest Vietnamese commercial banks, in Hanoion February 21 to wish their employees a Happy Lunar New Year.

The PM extended greetings to 24,000 Vietinbank employees in an event live-streamedin 155 branches of the bank nationwide.

Phuc lauded Vietinbank’s successful equitisation, the growth of itstechnology-based banking services and its efforts to manage bad debts andimprove management efficiency. He also mentioned the bank as a credit providerfor the country’s key projects, backing the government to achieve its goals.

He asked the bank to improve its competiveness by building financialand management capacity to international standards. Vietinbank should adoptsolutions to improve and control credit quality; strengthen bad debtmanagement; and continue stepping up administrative reform to provide start-upsand investors easier access to loans, he said.

Later the same day, the PM met with Vietcombank staff on the occasionof the Vietnamese New Year, during which he praised the bank’s corporateculture.

Vietcombank led in complying with the government’s policies, Phuc noted,adding that the bank is offering the market’s lowest lending interest ratesthough it has not reduced deposit interest rates.

In a short time, Vietcombank’s total assets exceeded 1 quadrillion VND(44 billion USD) and its ratio of non-performing loans was down to 1.1 percent,the lowest among domestic credit institutions. The bank is also the first ofits kind in Vietnam to exceed 10 trillion VND in profit, Phuc said.

He asked Vietcombank to broaden its vision to become a regional bank inAsia and to expand its size and branches to narrow gaps with large banks in theregion.

He also suggested the bank develop banking technology and catch up withnew technological trends, particularly in information security and safety.

In 2017, VietinBank earneda total profit of 9.2 trillion VND (404 million USD), 105 percent of its annualtarget.

The bank’s total assetsnotched a year-on-year surge of 15.3 percent to exceed 1.1 quadrillion VND(48.4 billion USD), making it one of Vietnam’s three largest banks in terms ofassets and the country’s second-largest bank in terms of profit, after Vietcombank.

Its outstanding loans reached 839 trillion VND (over 36.9 billion USD),up 18 percent year on year.

Meanwhile,Vietcombank reportedpre-tax profit of more than 11 trillion VND (482.5 million USD) last year.

This was a record pre-taxprofit achieved by a Vietnamese bank, representing a rise of 32.9 percentduring the same period in the previous year and 16 percent higher thanVietcombank’s target.

Total deposits amountedto 889.7 trillion VND (over 39.1 billion USD), up 38.7 percent year on year and18 percent above set target.

Outstandingloans reached 553 trillion VND (24.33 billion USD), an increase of 17.2 percent.-VNA