In its business plan for 2021 circulated to shareholders, the bank said it expects deposits and total assets to increase by 10 percent to VND148 trillion and VND177 trillion.

Non-performing loans will be kept at below 2.5 percent and loans outstanding will increase by 15 percent to VND117 trillion.

In 2020, it was the only lender in Vietnam to see outstanding loans fall (by 10 percent). Its non-performing loans jumped from 1.71 percent to 2.52 percent.

But its pre-tax profit rose by over 20 percent to VND1.34 trillion as it managed to cut operating costs.

Last year, the bank postponed its annual meeting of shareholders four times, twice due to a lack of quorum.

At the end of the year, strategic shareholder Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation called on the lender’s board of directors to go through a no-confidence vote at the annual shareholders meeting to reduce the number of members to 5-7from nine.