HCM Stock Exchange (HoSE) put shares of the Viet Nam Export Import Bank (EIB) on the warning list due to its accumulated losses over two consecutive years. The exchange said yesterday that the bank's profit after tax in 2014 and 2015 was negative, stating that the undistributed profit of 2014 was adjusted from VND114 billion (US$5.1 million) to minus VND835 billion. The undistributed profit of 2015 was minus VND817.47 billion, according to audited financial statements.
According to the bank, the negative profit over the last two years was caused by the miscalculated sum of VND1.116 trillion from real estate deals between the bank and realty company Eximland between 2010 and 2013. To fix the problem, the bank chose to record these losses in the results from 2014 to 2016, and accumulated losses as a result.
As per the exchange's regulation, with two years of accumulated losses, stocks of the bank were listed as warning items under which no margin would be made with the shares.
However, bank Chairman Le Minh Quoc said Eximbank was still healthy. Quoc said that the bank did not have any internal problems.
Quoc said Eximbank reported VND123 trillion in total assets, and capital reached VND101 trillion, an increase of 2.8 per cent from the same term last year. Quoc also estimated a profit of VND500 billion within the period.
Based in HCM City, Eximbank works in raising capital, funds, lending and venturing. It also handles payment and accounting services, trading gold and foreign currencies, as well as the insurance sector.
Last December the bank selected a nine-member board, of which two members represented the bank's strategic shareholder, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a global financial institution from Japan, and one from Vietcombank. The Japanese partner held 15 per cent of stakes, and Vietcombank held 8.2 per cent of stakes in the bank.
Chairman Quoc said he would solve the problem in his term to help the bank bounce back to its leading position in Viet Nam, while YasuhiroSaitoh from SMBC pledged to support the board to develop the bank professionally in a new term.
Yesterday, shares of EIB ended at VND10,100 on HoSE.