(Vneconomy.vn) - After 5 hours of controversy and confusion, the second 2016 annual general meeting of shareholders of Vietnam Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) was unsuccessful. It is expected to be held a third time.

A chaotic congress and the need to return the hall led to failure
has caused Eximbank's image, including the Board of Directors, to lose prestige and points

The reason for the failure is probably unique to Vietnam: it took too long to stabilize order, and then the congress had to stop to return the hall, because the hotel had finalized the schedule to serve the delegation during the President's visit. US President Barack Obama.
Is Ho Chi Minh City too crowded for Eximbank to proactively find an alternative location, because the schedule for returning the hall had been announced many days in advance, or did the organizers not foresee that the conference would have to be prolonged?
In any case, a messy congress and the failure to return the meeting hall caused Eximbank's image, including the Board of Directors, to lose prestige and points.

Thought it was just a side story, but the above details are all tied to Eximbank's current internal situation: chaos, but, chaos within the allowed legal framework.
"Rules of the game" are harsh
In the past and present, there are different perspectives on developments at Eximbank.
Have a perspective on the consequences of the past that have left banks messy and difficult; perspective on the power struggle between shareholder groups; perspective on the influence of foreign investors and Au Lac Company; the view that the disturbances are too great and too much but still not resolved at the top of management and operations, causing business activities to decline; perspective on the need to stabilize the situation for state management agencies...
Regardless of perspective, all flows and actions of entities in the market must comply with the provisions of law. All struggles, disturbances, even "power struggles"... must be done according to regulations. Here, at Eximbank, the rules of the game are harsh.
Not now, years ago, some members of the old Board of Directors noticed the pressure of a potential power struggle.

Eximbank is a public company with an open ownership mechanism. It is normal for investors to buy, pool shares, and form groups. That association and ownership, to a certain extent, becomes the power to claim rights. That is to send representatives to participate in management and operations. The law has been established.
That is also the environment that creates changes, as long as the change process is transparent and complies with legal regulations.
As above, in previous years, some former members of the Board of Directors realized that the pressure to fight from the new group of shareholders was increasing. Financial defensive reaction formed. To strengthen our strength and position in this struggle, increasing the ownership rate is almost the only way.
Similarly, new investors who want to create change and gain power also strengthen and consolidate that power.
The remaining issue is where the money comes from for both sides to strengthen.
The source of money is not endless. When the struggle is intense and fierce, borrowing activities arise, then mortgages, authorizations... And this is the point where the State Bank comes into play.
The inspection conclusions reported in 2015 are also suggestive. The main source of money is a point pointed out for handling, even the mandatory requirement of unconditional and indefinite authorization to the State Bank.
It is also in terms of cash resources that Eximbank may be hurt. Investors who borrow, transfer shares back and forth, even mortgage and then authorize..., in order to strengthen their fighting power, are they people who are truly dedicated, committed and devoted to the cause? bank, does it come to the bank with real power or not?
That question, although emotional, contributes to explaining why Eximbank's upper layer has not been peaceful in recent years to focus on steering and promoting the bank to be stronger and more effective in business. Instead, there are distractions, major disturbances, and continuous disturbances that can cause the staff to become disoriented and demotivated.
That is also a main reason to consider when explaining Eximbank's business results, besides referencing past consequences. Because this is still a bank with strong financial potential, prestige and a highly competitive position in the market, with a team of staff that many other banks would like to have.
Many and continuous disturbances at the top are part of the main reason for Eximbank's difficulties. But these are harsh rules of the game for a public company, the open ownership mechanism always has potential conflicts and struggles between shareholder groups.
The State Bank also cannot directly intervene in those internal disturbances, unless there are signs of violations of regulations, or the bank itself falls into risks that threaten the system's safety. shareholders cannot fix it.
Is the number of children "covering" a big mistake?
It is expected that 2016 will be the next year Eximbank will not have dividends to pay to shareholders. The Board of Directors explained that it must continue to overcome the accumulated loss of VND 817 billion and retroactively realize the "virtual profit" due to re-accounting of assets recorded in the years 2010-2013.
The relevant scale determined by the State Bank inspector is 1,116.66 billion VND, which was used to pay taxes, set aside funds and distribute dividends to shareholders in the above years.
Compared to the profit scale of up to 10,113 billion VND in the years 2010-2013, the number of "virtual profits" that must be retroactively is small.
However, up to now, this small number seems to be considered a typical burden of the past to "cover" Eximbank's real big setback in business ability in recent years and even today.
The average profit generation of more than 2,500 billion VND/year in the 2010-2013 period has disappeared. From 2014 until the end of the first quarter of 2016, the combined profit was less than 500 billion. At the same time, total assets decreased seriously, from about 180 trillion to less than 130 trillion; Both mobilization and lending market shares are gradually losing through negative growth rates.
Are the consequences of the past enough to explain Eximbank's huge setback in the past three years and now?
Meanwhile, as above, many and continuous disturbances at the top have distracted Eximbank; Employees can become disoriented and demotivated.
In fact, in just the past three years, this bank's staff has had to go through two large-scale rounds of layoffs and downgrading of personnel, and is still continuing to this day; including many key officials, who have been attached and devoted for more than 20 years...
Eximbank, accordingly, is still not at peace. But ahead, the struggle between major shareholder groups may not be over yet...