Moody's Upgrades SeABank's Outlook to Positive from Stable

HANOI, Vietnam, June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Moody's Investors Services (Moody's) raised its outlook for Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank's (SeABank - Vietnam, stock code SSB) to Positive from Stable and affirmed SeABank's long-term credit rating at B1 for the third year in a row.

The positive outlook on the ratings of SeABank reflects Moody's view that improvements in asset quality over recent years - which could translate into lower credit costs and higher profitability - could raise the bank's BCA over the next 12 - 18 months.

Asset quality improved steadily at SeABank in recent years. The problem loans ratio, which include nonperforming loans (NPLs) and gross bonds issued by the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), declined to 1.9% as of the end of 2020 from 2.3%. SeABank has also been building up their problem loans coverage. Moody's expects asset quality to remain largely stable at SeABank amid the supportive economic environment in Vietnam.

Moody's also expects profitability at SeABank to improve over the next 12 - 18 months driven by higher yields from its loans to individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Capital, in turn, will remain stable as internal capital generation will support asset growth.

SeABank has achieved substantial expansion in recent years and has made beneficial contributions to the economy as a whole. SeABank is currently considered as one of 17 credit institutions with a significant impact on the Vietnamese banking industry in 2021.

At the end of the first quarter of 2021, SeABank achieved positive business results with pre-tax profit of USD 30.24 million, 2.3 times higher than the same period in 2020. Total assets reached USD 8.0 billion, a 24% YoY increase. Customer deposits reached USD 5.0 billion, up 16.8% YoY, while loans to customers also increased by 14.3% over the same period, reaching USD 4.81 billion. Besides, the Bank's total net operating income also reached USD 62.4 million, up 48% and the cost to income ratio was at 40.8% compared to 52.9% for the same period in 2020.

At the end of the trading session on May 31, 2021, SeABank's market capitalization reached USD 2.14 billion, making SeABank one of the top 12 banks by market capitalization list in the Vietnamese stock market.

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