The government may adopt the restructuring plan for the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, better known as Agribank, in February, said a senior official of the bank.

Photo: Tuoi Tre

The restructuring roadmap for the biggest commercial bank inof Vietnam may last for 3-4 years, Nguyen Ngoc Bao, chairman of Agribank’s board of directors, told newswire Vneconomy.

The main objective of this plan is to put Agribank back on track and become- a state-owned commercial bank performing critical tasks set out by the government and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) for agriculture and rural development, Bao said.

During the restructuring, the bank will continue to hold market share in major economic hubs, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. But it will mainly focus on three tasks: raising capital, developing and improving banking services, and promoting its branding campaign.

Currently, Agribank is managing nine related business segments, including insurance, securities, gold, and financial leasing.

This is an issue to be addressed in the restructuring process, Bao said.

"We will only keep the companies operating in the field of financial and monetary fields which areis directly related to the operations of Agribank, including companies specializing in treasury and insurance services,” Bao added.

By the end in 2011, Agribank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) increased from 6.4 percent to 8 percent. The CAR may even rise to 9 percent if the government approves theto raisinge of an additional VND30 trillion ($393.5 million) for its chartered capital.

ItsThe bank’s bad debts fell from nearly 7 percent in H1/2011 to 6 percent by the year-end. In 2012, Agribank will restructure the bad debts in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, striving to bring the bad debt ratio to 5 percent.

Established in March 1988, Agribank is the leading commercial banks and holds a key role and key in the development of Vietnam's economy, especially through investment in agriculture, farmers and rural areas.

It washas been ranked at No.10 in the VNR500 – the 500 largest Vietnamese enterprises in terms of revenues in 2011.

As of September 2011, Agribank is the largest bank in Vietnam in terms of assets, capital, staff members, operational network and customers with VND524 trillion, VND478 trillion, 37,500 employees and over 2,300 branches and transaction offices, and over 10 million customers.

Source: Tuoitrenews