PGBank wants to pull the plug on merger with HDBank

The proposal is in a note prepared for a board of directors meeting to be held on March 30.

In April 2018, PGBank’s shareholders had approved the plan to merge with HDBank, and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) approved in-principle it in October 2018.

In a board meeting last year Nguyen Quang Dinh, its chairman, said receiving final approval from the central bank was proving difficult.

State-owned petroleum distributor Petrolimex, which owns 40 percent of the bank’s shares, had threatened to sell its stake if the merger did not take place by August 31 last year.

Petrolimex is the only shareholder with more than a 5 percent stake.

PGBank had earlier wanted to merge with state-owned VietinBank, but the deal collapsed after two years of negotiations.

Last year its pre-tax profit surged 140 percent to VND212 billion ($9.2 million).