Bank profits rebound on strong credit growth

Bank profits rebound on strong credit growth

Profits in Việt Nam’s banking sector showed a brighter picture in the third quarter of 2025 than in the first half of the year, supported by continued positive credit growth and a stable net interest margin (NIM).

After-tax profits of listed banks in the third quarter of 2025 are estimated to increase by about 21.5 per cent over the same period. Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Profits in Việt Nam’s banking sector showed a brighter picture in the third quarter of 2025 than in the first half of the year, supported by continued positive credit growth and a stable net interest margin (NIM).

Experts at MB Securities Company (MBS) said credit growth momentum remained steady in the third quarter, with an estimated increase of 14.8 per cent since the beginning of the year and 4.6 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

According to the experts, the low interest rate environment continued to play a key role in boosting credit, particularly as retail lending began catching up with corporate credit, driven by recovering consumer and home loans.

MBS reported that private joint stock banks recorded faster credit growth than their State-owned counterparts, at 18 per cent and 12 per cent respectively by the end of the third quarter.

Higher credit growth, strong net interest income and reduced provisioning costs were the main factors supporting banks’ profitability. Other revenue sources, including foreign exchange trading and other activities, also expanded and contributed positively to overall performance.

The legalisation of Resolution 42/2017/QH14 on bad debt settlement has further aided the sector, enabling banks to accelerate the handling and recovery of bad debts and lower provisions, which in turn supported profit growth.

NIMs are forecast to remain stable or edge up slightly in the second half of the year, thanks to low lending rates and strong pressure on capital mobilisation. Banks have also expanded medium- and long-term lending and promoted non-term deposits to improve margins.

Among listed institutions, Nam A Bank was one of the first to announce business results for the first nine months of 2025, reporting a pre-tax profit of more than VNĐ3.8 trillion, up nearly VNĐ520 billion year-on-year and equivalent to 77 per cent of its annual target. Its total assets by the end of September exceeded VNĐ377 trillion, an increase of more than VNĐ132 trillion since the start of the year.

Võ Hoàng Hải, Deputy General Director of Nam A Bank, attributed the positive results to proactive credit promotion in priority sectors, which effectively channelled capital into the real economy. The bank also took advantage of opportunities in the secondary market, particularly the interbank market and safe investment channels such as government bonds, valuable papers and bonds issued by other credit institutions.

MBS estimated that after-tax profits of listed banks in the third quarter of 2025 rose about 21.5 per cent year-on-year, improving from 18.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Banks expected to see strong after-tax profit growth due to high credit expansion include HDBank, Techcombank, BIDV, VPBank, LPBank and VietinBank. Of these, VietinBank, VPBank, OCB and VIB recorded after-tax profit increases of more than 30 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Meanwhile, analysts at Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) said banks such as VPBank, HDBank, VietinBank, OCB and MSB were likely to maintain solid growth thanks to improved credit from a low base last year.

At HDBank, robust credit expansion is expected to be the main driver of net interest income, offsetting most of the impact from higher provisioning costs. The bank’s pre-tax profit in the third quarter was estimated at VNĐ5.2 trillion, up 16 per cent year-on-year and 11 per cent from the previous quarter, according to SSI.

Sacombank is projected to post the strongest profit growth in the third quarter, estimated at VNĐ5.8 trillion, up 111 per cent year-on-year and 59 per cent quarter-on-quarter, despite higher credit costs.

Other banks such as OCB, VPBank, VietinBank, BIDV and MSB are also estimated to have achieved third-quarter pre-tax profit growth of more than 30 per cent compared to the same period last year. 

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