"Even in the very tough environment we are seeing, our employees have maintained a high quality and reliable service for our customers and this is helping us deliver stellar performance year after year," said Jens Lottner, CEO of Techcombank. Last year, the bank continued to reduce costs while focusing on building deposits in its current accounts and savings accounts (CASA), which Lottner described as a "stable and cheap" source of funding. Techcombank’s CASA ratio, which reflects the percentage of the bank’s total deposits that are CASA, jumped from 46.1 percent in 2020 to 50.5 percent last year, on its way to the bank’s target of 55 percent by 2025. Techcombank’s net interest margin (NIM), a measure of the difference between the interest received by the bank and the amount paid out to lenders, also increased 69 basis points to 5.6 percent during the year. "Together, these improving metrics, along with our effective cost management, translated into an excellent profit before tax … [Read more...] about Techcombank eyes seat at top Southeast Asian banking table
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Central bank limits foreign loans for trading stock, real estate
The bank is collecting feedback on its draft circular to replace the current version with stricter conditions for receiving short-term foreign loans to ensure a national debt limit. The draft will allow Vietnamese businesses to access short-term foreign loans for paying debt, but not for potentially risky purposes like trading stock and real estate. This is because once the stock and real estate market grows way above its intrinsic value, there would be a high chance of creating an asset bubble, causing economic instability. The central bank plans to ban the use of short-term foreign loans to buy projects or stakes in them, since mergers and acquisitions involve long-term investment and commitment. It also plans to ban companies using short-term foreign loans to acquire projects or stakes in projects, as mergers and acquisitions are long-term activities. Short-term loans could result in liquidity risks if used for medium- and long-term purposes, it explained. Companies may … [Read more...] about Central bank limits foreign loans for trading stock, real estate