Luu Trung Thai, chairman of the board, highlighted the bank's steadfast strategy for 2024, focusing on three key areas.

"First, we aim to develop our customer base and transaction scale. Second, we are committed to expanding our retail segment by creating new products and increasing retail volume. Third, we will prioritise investing in digital platforms, coupled with smart risk management and fostering a distinctive, sustainable, and innovative corporate culture," Thai stated.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, CFO, added that the bank's profits saw significant growth in Q2 compared to Q1. For Q3, MB is projecting a conservative financial scenario with credit growth of around 12-13 per cent, and a slight increase in funding costs of about 0.1-0.15 per cent. Additionally, provisioning costs may rise.

"We expect Q3 profits to fluctuate by ±6 per cent compared to Q2. The annual profit scenario remains as presented at the AGM, with efforts to enhance business revenue," Nga said.

During the meeting, Thai also addressed investors' concerns regarding loans to Trung Nam, Novaland, Vingroup, and Sun Group.

Regarding Trung Nam Group, Thai revealed that MB has reduced its outstanding debt by VND2 trillion ($80 million) since the beginning of the year.

The bank's loans focus on solar power projects, which are operating on schedule and benefiting from favourable feed-in tariff rates, ensuring stable cash flow for debt repayment.

"We do not classify Trung Nam's loans as non-performing. These independent projects are running well and can meet their debt obligations," he said.

For Novaland, MB has reduced its outstanding debt by VND1.5 trillion ($60 million) since last year. The bank's loans are directed towards three major projects, all of which are progressing positively.

“The NovaWorld Phan Thiet project shows promising signs with no legal issues and is currently undergoing land valuation under the new Land Law. Meanwhile, Novaland’s Vung Tau project has all the necessary documentation and is in the sales phase. The Aqua City project is being monitored closely to complete legal procedures, with government support to resolve real estate sector challenges,” he said.

"We do not foresee any issues with Novaland's debt repayment this year. We expect the NovaWorld Phan Thiet and Vung Tau projects to finalise their business plans next year, and Aqua City to complete necessary legal processes this year," Thai added.

Regarding Sun Group, Thai stated that there should be no difficulties balancing collateral and debt repayment. The group focuses on tourism-related projects, such as Fansipan and Ba Den, which have stable customer flows and cash streams.

"The real estate projects involving Sun Group that MB finances are of a manageable scale and quality," he added.

“For Vingroup, MB maintains strict control, focusing on projects with full legal compliance and final product deployment. Most projects with Vingroup have been repaid swiftly. The collateral assets of these four businesses are typically three times the loan balance, enabling MB to effectively manage each project's progress,” Thai highlighted.

Thai concluded that MB remains committed to its goals for the second half of 2024, aiming to maintain its net interest margin, tightly control operational costs, and ensure the quality of credit and non-performing loans (NPL) are managed at least as well as in the first half of the year. The group's NPL ratio target is below 1.7 per cent, with 100 per cent provisioning for bad debts.

Based on current trends, MB expects credit demand to rebound, improving loan balance scales and fee income, while maintaining robust bad debt recovery rates. The bank aims to achieve a minimum profit of VND28.8 trillion ($1.15 billion) in 2024, and potentially exceed this figure.