The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), two of the four state-owned banks in Vietnam, have reported positive financial results for the first half of 2015, confirming their leading positions in the market, according to a local newspaper.

The Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam (Vietnam Economic Times) quoted BIDV Chairman Tran Bac Ha as saying that the bank remains one of the largest listed banks in the industry with total assets of around 730 trillion VND (33.46 billion USD), a surge of 25 percent against the same period last year and 14 percent from the beginning of 2015.

It saw a 31 percent lending growth and 33 percent deposit growth year-on-year to 535 trillion VND (24.52 billion USD) and 574 trillion VND (26.3 billion USD), respectively.

These expansions, 4-6 percent higher than the industry average, have helped BIDV grab 12.7 percent of the lending market shares and 11.59 percent of the deposit market shares, up 1.1 percent and 1.28 percent, respectively, from 2014.

The lender’s pre-tax profit exceeded 3 trillion VND (137.5 million USD) in the first six months of the year, up 25 percent annually, while its two subsidiaries, BIDV Insurance Corporation (BIC) and BIDV Securities Company (BSC), also posted pre-tax profit increases of 40 percent.

Both of the subsidiaries are seeking strategic investors to expand their business. Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings has purchased a 35 percent stake in the BIC this year.

Vietcombank has enjoyed strong growth in non-interest income during the same period. Its revenues in international and domestic card transactions rose by 17 percent and 50 percent annually, respectively, surpassing the yearly targets, said Vietcombank Chairman Nghiem Xuan Thanh.

Deposits at the bank hit 455.7 trillion VND (20.9 billion USD) while total loans were pegged at 345.1 trillion VND (15.8 billion USD), an annual increase of 7.67 percent and 17.56 percent, respectively.

The bank reported a bad debt rate of 2.43 percent of its total loans.-VNA