Its credit growth was 4 percent. CEO Do Minh Toan said: "[While] the results in the first quarter were fine, the bank’s growth in the next nine months remains uncertain since the pandemic is threatening to break out at any time."

ACB has a full-year profit target of VND10.6 trillion ($460.8 million), 10 percent higher than last year. If it manages to achieve it, it will join a select group of lenders to surpass the VND10 trillion mark comprising state-owned lenders Vietcombank, VietinBank and MBBank, Vietnam's largest private bank Techcombank and VPBank.

Its assets were worth VND447 trillion and it targets growing it by 10 percent this year.

It wants to keep non-performing loans at below 2 percent.

Toan said the NPL rate has always been under 0.7 percent, and if the pandemic is contained it would definitely be under 1 percent this year.

Tran Hung Huy, the bank’s Chairman, said ACB would focus on retail customers and small and medium-sized enterprises and developing its northern market, especially Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province.

While the bank plans to acquire smaller banks, Huy said it is not in a hurry to do it considering "there are many cases where a merger has not been successful, affecting the business."