# Vietcombank

Vietcombank or formally the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Ngân hàng TMCP Ngoại thương Việt Nam) is a major commercial bank in Vietnam.

## Overview

Vietcombank's headquarters are located in Hanoi, Vietnam. As of 31 December 2020 the bank had 116 branches and 474 transaction offices in Vietnam, 3 local subsidiaries, 3 overseas subsidiaries, 3 joint ventures, and an overseas representative office in Singapore. As of December 31, 2020, Vietcombank's market capitalization was $15.5 billion.

## History

Vietcombank was formerly the Foreign Exchange Management Department (FEMD) of the National Bank of Vietnam (NBV), established on January 20, 1955. In 1961, the FEMD was renamed the Foreign Exchange Bureau (FEB) under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).
Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam was founded on 1 April 1963 as Bank for Foreign trade of Vietnam. It was span off from the Foreign Exchange Bureau of the State Bank of Vietnam to be an exclusive bank for foreign trade.
In 1990, Vietcombank diversified its services from being exclusively focused on foreign trade to a become a mass market commercial bank. In 1996 the bank's official name was changed to Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam.
In 2008, Vietcombank was selected by the government to be the pilot for privatization of state-owned companies. The bank was then after listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on 30 June 2009 after a successful IPO that raised US$652 million making it the biggest Vietnamese firm to conduct an initial public offering.
In 2011, Vietcombank signed a strategic shareholder agreement with Mizuho Corporate Bank, a member of Mizuho Financial Group, Japan. In 2013, Vietcombank launched a new brand identity system with the slogan "Shared trust - Strong future". In 2016, Vietcombank regained the top position in terms of profit in the Vietnamese banking market.
In 2018, Vietcombank became the first bank to be officially granted the decision to apply Basel II under Circular 41 by the State Bank of Vietnam. In 2019, Vietcombank became the first Vietnamese bank to have profit reaching the milestone of 1 billion USD. In 2020, Vietcombank successfully went live with the core banking system.

## Member companies

Other than providing banking services, Vietcombank has invested in subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates. These investments include but are not limited to the following:
| | Name | Shareholding | Industry |
| 1 | Vietcombank Financial Leasing Company Limited | 100% | Financial leasing |
| 2 | Vietcombank Securities Company Limited | 100% | Investment banking |
| 3 | Vietcombank Tower 198 Company Limited | 70% | Real estate |
| 4 | Vietnam Finance Company Limited | 100% | Financial services |
| 5 | Vietcombank Laos | 100% | Commercial banking |
| 6 | Vietcombank Money Incorporated | 75% | Money transfer |
| 7 | Vietcombank - Bonday - Ben Thanh Company Limited | 52% | Real estate |
| 8 | Vietcombank Fund Management Company | 51% | Investment fund management |
| 9 | Vietcombank - Cardif Life Insurance Company Limited | 45% | Life insurance |
| 10 | Vietcombank Bonday Limited | 16% | Real estate |

## Ownership

The shares of the stock of Vietcombank are traded on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, under the symbol: VCB. As of March 2021, The shareholding in the bank's stock was a follows:
Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam Stock Ownership :
| Rank | Name of Owner | Percentage Ownership |
| 1 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs | 74.80 |
| 2 | Arirang | 15.00 |
| 3 | Others | 7.89 |
| | Total | 100.00 |

## Governance

Vietcombank is governed by a seven-person Board of Directors with Pham Quang Dung serving as Chairman and CEO.

## Vietcombank Tower

Vietcombank Tower is 35 storey building in Ho Chi Minh City. The tower is a venture between Vietcombank and FELS Property Holding of Singapore.
The tower is located at District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. With the height of 206 meters, it is the third tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City and the seventh tallest building in Vietnam.
The construction began in 2011 and completed in 2014. This tower's shape is different than the Empire State Building because it has modern architecture with gray colored-glass. In addition to Vietcombank, corporate tenants with offices in the building include Lotte, Heineken Vietnam, Johnson & Johnson, SSI, Idemitsu, Sun Life Financial, and Pernod Ricard Vietnam.