Winner: Techcombank

Techcombank’s submission for the FinanceAsia Awards highlighted the resilience of a bank that has thrived despite the global economic headwinds that have posed challenges to Vietnam’s banking sector.

The judges were impressed by the strength of the bank across financial performance, customer offerings and experiences, technology innovation, talent development and sustainability. 

The judges noted that “the bank’s investments in technology and its digital platforms are delivering real value by enabling it to speed-up the launch of new offerings and expand its customer base, while still maintain industry-leading profitability.”

Despite high interest rates and uncertainty around Vietnam’s bond and real-estate markets, Techcombank achieved profit before tax that exceed its guidance by 4%, demonstrating the robustness and diversity of its business model. 

Techcombank’s total assets surged by 21.5% year-on-year to VND849.5 trillion (around $33.4 billion), with its credit assets growing by 21.6%, outpacing the industry’s 13% increase. The bank’s CASA (current account savings account) balances rose 37% year-on-year, helping the bank to achieve the highest CASA ratio in Vietnam, at nearly 40%, at the end of 2023.

Techcombank generated more fee income than any other bank in Vietnam, recording net-fee income (NFI) of VND10.2 trillion, up 9.5% year-on-year. In Q4 alone NFI contributed VND3.1 trillion, marking the first quarter its NFI exceeded the VND3 trillion mark.

The bank’s digital capabilities and unique ecosystem partnerships enabled it to add 2.6 million new customers, a 100% increase over the previous year and bringing its total customer base to 13.4 million.

These customers were rewarded with new cutting-edge financial offerings easily accessible through the bank’s marketing-leading mobile banking apps and digital platforms. 

For example, the bank became the first in Vietnam to introduce an Auto-earning solution on its mobile app that enables retail customers to make profit from their idle cash.  

For Vietnam’s SMEs and merchants, Techcombank offered a comprehensive suite of digital-led solutions spanning cash management, trade finance and payment and collections, and enhanced its credit underwriting capabilities. 

Other metrics highlighted the bank’s leading position: it was No.1 in wealth management; No.1 in card payment volume, No. 1 in fee income; No. 1 in transaction banking; and No.1 in equity brokerage among banks on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

Techcombank is also leading the digital transformation of Vietnam’s banking sector and continues to make significant investments in technology.  The bank says it has broadly applied data analysis and AI across the business and transitioned most major systems to the cloud. 

One example is the banks cloud-based ‘data lake’. This integrates data from across the bank and is linked with AWS’ data analytics capabilities to empower it customer relationship management system and deliver better, more personalised customer experiences.  

Techcombank also has one of the most digitally engaged customer bases of any bank in the world, reflecting how simple and easy to use the bank’s online platforms have become. According to the bank, 94% of retail transactions are now done online and an average of 50 log-ins per customer per month.

The award also recognises Techcombank’s outstanding efforts to recruit and develop the best Vietnamese and international talent, building over the years one of the most diverse, most skilled, and most engaged workforces in the Asian banking industry. 

In 2023, Techcombank marked its 30th anniversary year by opening two state-of-the art, energy efficient, head office buildings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. These buildings provide a word-class working environment in which Techcombank’s employees can thrive and reach their full potential.  

Techcombank was the standout institution in Vietnam’s banking landscape in 2023 and has put the building blocks in place to be even stronger in 2024 and deliver on its vision to “Change Banking, Change Lives”.

“Techcombank achieved a lot in 2023. We marked the bank’s 30th anniversary, opened two new world-class head office buildings and reached new heights in terms of profitability, asset-quality and balance sheet strength.” 
Jens Lottner, CEO 

Contact
Website: https://techcombank.com/en