Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has announced the completion of the sale of a 49% stake in VPBank Finance Company Limited (FE Credit) to SMBC Consumer Finance Co., Ltd (SMBCCF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMBC Group).
As such, six months since VPBank and SMBCCF signed the capital transfer agreement in April 2021, both parties have completed all necessary steps and procedures that allow SMBCCF to officially acquire the 49% stake in FE Credit. In addition, VPBank Finance Company Limited is also renamed as VPBank SMBC Finance Company Limited. VPBank will still retain a 50% stake in FE Credit, while the remaining 1% is held by another investor.
The divestment of half of its stake in FE Credit will allow VPBank to enhance its financial capability and further expand business activities in other promising segments. Meanwhile, the investment will allow SMBCCF, a leading consumer finance company in Japan, to expand its business franchise in the region, with accumulated know-how and experience in Japan and other Asian countries.
Established in 1993, VPBank is currently one of the biggest private banks in Vietnam with total assets of over VND479 trillion as of the end of Q3 2021. The bank operates in a wide range of businesses including retail banking, corporate banking, wealth management and consumer finance.
FE Credit is currently the leading consumer finance company in Vietnam with a market share of approximately 50% of the market share, 20,000 points of sales nationwide, and more than 13,000 employees. Throughout its development, FE Credit is committed to accomplishing its mission of “satisfying the need of people of all strata to access formal credit to improve their livelihoods”. So far, FE Credit has served about 11 million Vietnamese people with its unsecured lending and services.
SMBC Group is one of the three biggest banking and financial groups in Japan, with total assets of over $2,100 billion as at December 31, 2020. The group operates in retail banking, corporate banking, and investment banking worldwide, with its presence in over 40 countries. SMBCCF is the leading consumer finance company in Japan with more than 900 branches. In Asia, SMBCCF has established subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and China.
