VietNamNet Bridge – The second phase of the bank restructuring process initiated by the State Bank is likely to start in 2015, and merger and acquisition (M&A) plans are also expected to finally occur this year.

Vietcombank and Sacombank-Southern Bank are expected to activate the bank M&A wave in 2015, analysts say.

Vietcombank on December 26 unexpectedly announced that it will take over a joint stock bank. The name of the joint stock bank remains a secret, but sources said it is a small joint stock bank in the south.

Meanwhile, the Sacombank-Southern Bank merger was announced at a 2014 Sacombank’s shareholders’ meeting by the bank’s president Kieu Huu Dung. The deal could not be wrapped up in 2014 because it still had not received  approval from the State Bank.

However, analysts said the watchdog agency would give priority to the merger deal, because the two banks are believed to have the same owner – Tram Be, a “big fish” in the banking sector, who is said to want the deal to succeed.

If Southern Bank and Sacombank merge, the ownership ratios of Be and his family members in the new bank would decrease. If so, they would no longer be in violation of the laws related to ownership ratio ceilings.

The Be family now holds 21 percent of Southern Bank’s stakes and 6.6 percent of Sacombank’s stakes. The former’s chartered capital is VND4 trillion, while the latter is VND12 trillion.

Analysts predicted that the second round of the bank restructuring process will take place in 2015, which means that more and more M&A deals will be announced in the year.

In the first phase, eight out of nine weak banks have been restructured through the M&A deals approved by the State Bank, resulting in a decrease of five commercial banks in the banking system.

The second phase of the restructuring process is believed to create new powerful “empires".

Maritime Bank is moving ahead with the plan to merge with Mekong Bank. Meanwhile, Viet A Bank is looking for a credit institution to merge with. PG Bank has expressed its willingness to merge with VietinBank, while Dong A Bank confirmed it has received “invitations” from the other two banks. MBBank also said it is looking for a suitable partner.

Some new “big bosses” have turned up after the M&A deals. After Habubank merged with SHB in 2012, SHB’s owner – Do Quang Hien – has become better known for his success in settling bad debts.

Once Southern Bank officially merges into Sacombank, Tram Be, the “big tycoon”, will even have bigger power in the banking sector.

Manh Ha