Banks brace for major leadership reshuffle amid strategic reset

Southern lender Sacombank has recently appointed Loic Faussier, a French expert with more than 27 years of experience at major financial institutions including HSBC and Citibank, and previously served as deputy CEO at VIB and CEO at SeABank. The move is seen as a clear signal of Sacombank’s push to internationalise its governance structure.

More notably, at its AGM scheduled for April 22 in Phu Tho, Sacombank will take another key step by submitting to shareholders a plan to elect four additional members to its Board of Directors for the 2022-2026 term, strengthening its top-level supervisory structure.

Currently, Sacombank’s Board of Directors comprises seven members, including chairman Duong Cong Minh, vice chairman Pham Van Phong, and five other members, including two independent members.

Sacombank has been undergoing a 10-year restructuring process that began in 2015 following its merger with SouthernBank, with completion expected in 2026. After this prolonged restructuring period, the bank has resolved most of its non-performing loans and legacy assets.

By the end of 2025, Sacombank reported consolidated pre-tax profit of approximately $305 million, equivalent to 52 per cent of its annual target.

In the fourth quarter alone, the bank recorded a loss of around $132 million, mainly due to a sharp increase in provisioning expenses, with total provisions for the year exceeding $452 million. As of year-end 2025, its non-performing loan ratio stood at a high 6.41 per cent of total customer loans.

The bank has recently announced its 2026 business plan, targeting pre-tax profit of roughly $324 million, up 6.2 per cent from 2025 but 45 per cent lower than the previous year’s target of $586 million.

Total assets are projected to grow by 10.2 per cent, surpassing the $40 billion mark, while the bank aims to bring its on-balance-sheet bad debt ratio below 5 per cent.

Eximbank has also continued to update its plans, announcing adjustments to the timeline for nominating candidates for additional and replacement positions on its Board of Directors and Supervisory Board for the 2025-2030 term.

Previously, the bank had extended the deadline for submitting nomination dossiers from March 16 to March 25. However, as that revised deadline approached, it pushed the timeline back by a further 19 days to April 13.

According to Eximbank, the extension is intended to give shareholders more time to complete their applications in compliance with regulations, while ensuring centralised, consistent receipt, management, and review of dossiers, thereby supporting thorough and accurate preparation for the annual general shareholders meeting.

After receiving the applications, Eximbank will review nomination dossiers on April 14 and submit them to the State Bank of Vietnam for approval on April 15.

Earlier, in mid-February, the bank revealed it had received resignation letters from four out of five members of its Board of Directors and four out of five members of its Supervisory Board.

Those resigning cited the need to focus on new responsibilities and plans, while also facilitating the bank’s search for suitable candidates aligned with its future governance and management strategy.

The election of additional members to both the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board is expected to take place at the upcoming annual general shareholders meeting on April 28 in Hanoi.

Subject to approval by the State Bank of Vietnam, Eximbank’s Board of Directors will propose increasing the number of board members for its eighth term to seven, including at least two independent members.

Despite missing its profit target last year, Eximbank has set an ambitious 2026 goal, with pre-tax profit projected to surge 169 per cent from about $60.4 million in 2025 to approximately $162.6 million this year.

However, despite the strong growth rate, the 2026 profit target still falls short of the $167 million achieved in 2024. Total assets by the end of 2026 are expected to approximate $12.4 billion, up 13.4 per cent on-year.

The non-performing loan ratio is projected to decline from 2.68 per cent to 1.99 per cent, a reduction of 0.7 percentage points.

Banks are ramping up loan-loss provisions, prioritising stronger balance sheets and asset quality over short-term profit growth amid rising credit expansion and potential market risks.

Many banks are planning significant charter capital increases during the 2026 AGM season through share issuances, stock dividends and private placements to strengthen financial capacity and support future credit growth.

Deposit rates are expected to trend higher in early 2026 as banks compete for liquidity, raising funding costs and creating upward pressure on lending rates, including mortgages.