IFC to grant $150 million loan package for VPBank

IFC to grant $150 million loan package for VPBank

The International Financial Corporation has proposed a loan package of up to $150 million to Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank to support the growth of the bank’s small and medium enterprise portfolio.

According to an IFC disclosure on February 10, the proposed investment comprises a five-year senior loan of up to $100 million and a seven-year senior loan of up to $50 million from IFC’s own account to VPBank.

The loan proceeds target VPBank's SME portfolio, with a particular focus on women-led and women-owned SMEs (WSMEs) in the agriculture sector.

The initiative is expected to include an advisory service component in agricultural finance, focusing on agricultural supply chain finance and climate smart agriculture finance.

Through the project, IFC expects to contribute to the continued growth of SME finance in Vietnam and help address the sector's increasing financing needs by supporting the bank to grow its MSME, WSME and agricultural SME loan portfolio.

It anticipates that this scheme will encourage competitiveness in the Vietnam SME lending market, through expanding access to credit for SMEs in the agriculture sector through introduction of new lending models to this segment.

As the mandated lead arranger and bookrunner (MLAB), IFC is committing to provide up to $150 million, from its own account, of the total funding package of up to $830 million.

IFC's MLAB role will boost the interest of other investors to mobilise an additional $680 million from international investors.

Last year, IFC also proposed a $200 million investment in VPBank's five-year sustainability bond. The proceeds of the bond will be used to expand VPBank's sustainable finance portfolio by financing eligible climate and social projects.

VPBank is a Hanoi-headquartered commercial bank that provides a full range of banking services across all consumer groups including retail, SME, corporate, and institutional clients through a branch network of 293 branches and transaction points.

VPBank has total assets of $47.9 billion, gross customer loans of US$35.9 billion and customer deposits of $23.9 billion. In April 2025, Moody’s affirmed VPBank’s Ba3 long-term deposits, senior unsecured and issuer ratings, and kept its outlook at 'Stable'.

In October 2023, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation acquired 15 per cent of VPBank, becoming a strategic shareholder of the bank.

VIR