Overview
Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB)

Embryonic stage of development.

The founders shared the common business principle of “managing the development of the enterprise in a safe and effective way.”

Targeted segments included households and private SMEs.

Became the first private Vietnamese bank to issue the international credit cards (MasterCard and Visa).

Approach modern banking services and products.

Launched an IT modernization program.

Rearranged the organizational structure of Headquarters in order to facilitate business and support activities.

Established ACB Securities Company (ACBS).

Adopted the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system and registered for recognition of (i) deposit taking, (ii) short and long-term lending, (iii) trade services, and (iv) human resource processes at the Headquarters.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) signed an agreement to provide ACB with comprehensive technical assistance, and became an ACB shareholder.

Carried out the second phase of the IT modernization program.

Listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

Rapid expansion of the branch network: 223 offices were put into operation, a leap from 58 offices in 2005 to 281 offices in 2010.

Established ACB Leasing (ACBL).

Issued 10 million shares with par value of VND100 billion, with the proceeds of more
than VND1,800 billion (2007); and increased its chartered capital to VND6,355 billion (2008).

Built a standard data backup center in Dong Nai Province.

Awarded two Labor Medals by the Government, and recognized by various prestigious financial magazines and organizations as the best bank in Vietnam.

The “Strategic Directions for 2011 to 2015 and the Vision to 2020” was issued. 
An enterprise module data center was put into operation.

ACB Gold Manufacturing Center was the first business in the industry certified by

QMS Australia for its quality management system (meeting the standards of ISO 9001:2008) and also recognized by Accreditation of Vietnam for meeting the standards of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 in testing and calibrating capacity (determining gold content).

The August incident in 2012 had a serious impact on various activities of ACB; however, it took quick actions and adopted drastic measures in response.

In 2013, although the business results missed expectations, ACB achieved positive growth rates in terms of deposit taking and lending. Bad debt was kept under 3%. ACB managed to better arrange its personnel and cut headcounts. ACB began implementing the restructuring roadmap (2013 – 2015), as stipulated by the SBV.

In 2014, ACB upgraded the old core banking platform, which had been in use for 14 years, to a new version called the DNA. ACB developed a risk management framework to fully comply with new regulations regarding prudential ratios. ACB’s branches grew in size and performance improved.

New branding was introduced on January 05, 2015, including a new logo, façade signages at branches and sub-branches, etc. ACB also completed its strategic plans including (i) branch/sub-branch restructuring, (ii) establishment of the domestic payment center (the first stage), and (iii) completion of key performance indicators for units and staff at the Headquarters. In addition, ACB implemented projects regarding transaction banking, privilege banking, and customer management systems, etc.

In 2016, ACB completed as per schedule multiple items of technology projects, including the changing of ACBS’s core system; improvement in IT applications such as CLMS, CRM, ACMS, ELM, PASS to support the streamlining of business processes; upgrading ATM system and ACB website to increase utility and customer payment service, etc. Furthermore, ACB continued to complete strategic plan including (i) transaction banking, (ii) privilege banking, (iii) business process re-engineering – ACMS (phase 1), etc. in order to improve competitiveness. And particularly, during the year ACB successfully restructured the organization and operational model, with increased performance of its branches/ sub-branches and more streamlined organization of its Headquarters units.

In 2017, ACB continued to improve policies, procedures, and risk management limits in order to comply with regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam. ACB achieved positive results in terms of operations and customer service quality: staff efficiency improved by 20%; working errors fell by 50%; and customer satisfaction improved. ACB is one of the top banks in terms of customer service quality. ACB continued with the plan of restructuring the branch network, grouping branches and sub-branches into clusters, and clusters into regions. Offices were relocated to further penetrate key markets and to develop new markets with potential. Consequently, performance of the branch network improved remarkably, and more than 94% of branches were profitable. Restructuring of the human resource continued, with a focus on sales forces with high capability and efficiency, and development and nurture of the successors.

In 2018, ACB ensured the sustainability of consumer banking and SME as well as controlled the credit quality and safe operation effectively. The credit growth of these two areas was outstanding in conjunction with the ALCO’s direction. Deposit was improved leading to the increase of CASA from 16.7% to 17.5%. Card sales released better figures compared to the previous year. The bank issued VND4,400 billion of AAA bonds with 3-year and 10-year term. Debt was settled and collected resulting in the income from debt ettlement was fourfold higher than 2017. ACB has gradually built the platforms, continued to enhance its operation capability for the transformation and development in the period of 2019 – 2024.

The year 2019 marked the first year in the implementation of the refreshed ACB’s Strategy for the period 2019 – 2024. In the revised strategy, ACB aims to be the leading private bank in Vietnam with good profitability driven by a clear strategy focusing on three business segments. Consumer banking and SME banking are the two key growth priorities, while corporate banking (for mid-market and large corporations) is a selective growth business. Strategic objectives are to grow consumer banking and total SME income by 20% per annum, deliver the best customer experience, and become one of the most profitable banks with an ROE >20%. To achieve these 2024 targets, a transformation plan has been devised to tightly manage multiple critical initiatives that will drive change.

The balance sheet in year 2020 illustrates the sustainability and quality of ongoing growth. Customer deposits and loans were up over 15% and 16%, respectively, higher than the average rate in the market. The liquidity was strong, non-performing loan (NPL) was under control at low level and profitability was high. 2020 witnessed that ACB switched from HNX to HOSE and exclusively contracted with Sun Life Vietnam (a member of Sun Life Group Canada) which is a leading insurer in Vietnam. ACB enhanced further its risk management and capital. Subsidiaries helped contribute to the Group’s profit.

Financial targets were successfully accomplished in 2021. The bank has prioritized digitalization and technology applications in operations to save time and effort, for example, implementing eKYC technology in online account opening, the mobile app was upgraded for individual customers, online disbursement is available via ACB Online, and the ACB Business Application serves corporate customers, etc. in order to assist customers to make payments easily and quickly.

ACB launched the digital banking brand ACB One, a milestone marking the digitalization of the bank’s operations to optimize customer experience. Capital adequacy and liquidity risk control met the Basel III requirements, as reviewed by KPMG.