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VIETNAM | |
Best Bank: Techcombank |
Chief executive Jens Lottner is leading Techcombank from strength to strength as Vietnam begins to recover from Covid restrictions.
The bank grew profit before tax by 47.1% year on year in 2021 to $1 billion, a new record for a private bank in Vietnam, and followed it up with 23% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2022.
Techcombank is among the leaders in digital, data and customer service quality, all of which have helped during difficult times.
Covid occupied much of the year, with the bank rescheduling $513 million of loans in 2020/21 and granting $23.5 million of interest reductions and waivers.
The result was a lot of potentially troubled borrowers instead exiting the programme without penalty, leading to a dramatic drop in outstanding reschedule loans; today the non-performing loan ratio stands at just 0.7%, among the lowest in the industry.
In these vexed times it is encouraging to find a bank that is growing in headcount. It hired 4,375 new employees in 2021, 700 of them in tech, and emphasized training for all of them. The bank’s $17.4 million contribution for community support, including hospital construction and provision of medical equipment, should not be overlooked.