• We attended ACB’s AGM in HCMC on April 4, 2024, with 867 attendances, representing 66% of voting rights for ACB.  
• 2024 guidance includes (1) credit growth of 14.0% YoY, (2) funding (including customer deposits and valuable papers) growth of 11% YoY, (3) NPL ratio of below 2%, and (4) PBT growth of 10% YoY.
• Shareholders approved a 25% dividend distribution plan on par value for FY2024, in the form of cash dividend (10%) and stock dividend (15%). The 2023 dividend distribution plan will be executed in Q2 2024. Recently, the SBV has approved ACB to increase its charter capital through stock dividends.   
• ACB expects ROE in the next 3-5 years will be maintained between 20-25%.
• ACB confirmed that Whisler Investment Limited, who owned a 4.99% stake of ACB, is no longer a shareholder of the company.  

ACB’s credit growth in 3M 2024 beat our expectation. According to ACB, the credit growth in Q1 2024 was 3.7% QoQ despite a strong increase in the credit growth at the end of 2023 (8.4% QoQ in Q4 2023). This result far exceeds the system-wide credit growth. One of the main growth drivers is corporate clients (+10% in 3M 2024) and ACB aims for acquiring high-quality corporate customers in the pharmaceuticals, healthcare, FDI, and infrastructure segments, who are currently the clients of SOE banks.

Lending interest rates trend down and hit a low level. Currently, ACB offers a lending rate of (1) 6%-8% for retail customers and (2) 4%-6% for corporate customers. We believe these competitive lending rates partly explain strong credit growth in 3M 2024. The bank’s management expects a stronger recovery in household consumption and manufacturing supported by their expectation that SBV continues to maintain a growth-oriented monetary policy throughout the year.

The bank expects for flat YoY growth in bancassurance sales vs our forecast of an increase of 9% YoY. ACB believes the recent changes in regulations for bancassurance distribution will impact bancassurance sales in the short-term, but it supports the bancassurance market to growth healthier and more transparent. ACB will benefit from these changes in medium term as the bank already has a strong process of selling bancassurance.

Q1 2024 PBT achieved VND4.9tn (-5% YoY). If we exclude the VND390bn recovery of written-off bad debt income in Q1 2023, ACB’s PBT grew 3% YoY in Q1 2024. This result achieved 21.3% of our full-year forecast and 22.0% of ACB’s guidance. 

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