Techcombank has a lot to celebrate. In 2023, we marked our 30th anniversary and opened two world-class head office buildings in prime locations of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Our investments in the three strategic pillars of excellence – Data, Digital and Talent – continued but this year, the third in our five-year transformation journey, we shifted gear. Our investments in technological capability and best-in-market digital platforms began to deliver real value. We sped up the launch of differentiated customer value propositions (CVPs), tailored to meet the needs of individuals throughout their financial lives, and attracted a record high number of customers – all while maintaining market leading profitability.

In another year of persistent headwinds, primarily caused by a volatile global economic environment and continued weak performance of the real-estate and bond markets in Vietnam, our financial performance remained steady. The Bank delivered on all components of our full-year financial guidance and ended the year with a strong balance sheet, robust growth and solid profitability. We proved the timelessness of Goethe’s words, ‘Even from the stones placed in your path, you can build something beautiful’.

I am excited to announce that management may soon set up a cash dividend policy as part of our continued long-term value creation for shareholders. The Bank is riding a wave of positive momentum and we are well placed to compete as Vietnam’s economic recovery gathers pace.

High interest rates compressed our net interest margin to 3.9%, increasing our non-performing loan ratio to 1.2% and seeing our total operating income decline by 1.2% and profit before tax down by 10.5%, for the full-year.

Retail and small and medium enterprise (SME) lending did begin to rebound towards the end of the year, increasing 5% and 10% quarter on quarter in Q4 respectively, with retail lending boosted by green shoots of recovery in the mortgage market.

Among business lending (for both large corporates and SMEs) credit provided to non-real estate related sectors went up ~60% year on year (YoY).

Despite our credit costs increasing to 0.8%, they remained well controlled and among the industry’s lowest as Techcombank was the only listed bank that was able to lower problem loans (B2-B5 loans) by 31 December 2023 compared to one year ago. Credit growth again outpaced the industry, up by 19.2% over the year.

Facing continued bond market volatility and mounting challenges in the insurance business, we worked to further diversify fee-based revenue. This included revamping our bancassurance strategy, to achieve #1 in annual premium equivalents for three consecutive months from September to November. At the same time, we expanded our forex, cash management and finance offerings for corporate clients, increasing our overall net fee income (NFI) by 9.5% YoY.

We have now broadly applied data analysis and AI across the business and transitioned most major systems to the cloud and our industry-leading digital platforms. This digital transformation puts us around three years ahead of other banks.

We know collecting data is important, but its power is in how we use it to create value. A complex digital infrastructure allows us to find meaning in the numbers and information we collect. We methodically analyse our data to uncover hidden insights, then apply these to:

Notably, in 2023, we rolled out a world-class, cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) solution across the Bank.

Refreshed value propositions for our Private and Priority branded tiers saw us deepen customer engagement, more effectively service them and thus increase already high wallet share among affluent high net worth individuals.

In 2023, we smoothly shifted gear from building foundational capabilities to leveraging our investments for real business value – 2024 will be a year of determined acceleration.

Our ‘must-win’ battles remain largely unchanged, specifically:

In 2024, we will also speed up the launch of unique, differentiated CVPs across target segments and sectors where we have unrivalled expertise.

On the retail banking side, high impact initiatives and offerings will include:

For corporate clients, our newly-formed CIBG division will enhance our ability to deliver better experiences and services and to deepen and grow relationships across our chosen value chain. It will increase management’s accountability for performance and accelerate decision making.

High impact corporate initiatives and offerings will include:

At the thirty-year mark, Techcombank has come a long way. The Bank is an established and reliable brand and we recently passed the halfway point of our incredible transformation journey. From products to services, to cutting edge application of data analysis and AI, we are always looking to exceed the expectations of our customers and shareholders. I am grateful to our dedicated team of employees who are the Bank’s heart and soul. I also appreciate the support of our shareholders and the important work of our regulators. The progress we have made and the achievements we are yet to welcome are all part of our important journey to "Be Greater".