Banks racing into year-end profit boom

As of October 22, financial reports from 11 banks showed profit growth, credit expansion, and improved asset quality, underscoring the sector’s solid footing supported by low-cost capital, rising credit demand, and a recovery in consumption and investment.

Leading the pack were Techcombank and VPBank, two private lenders with total assets exceeding $40 billion. Techcombank reported a pre-tax profit of $936 million, up 2.4 per cent on-year, with a record-breaking $332 million in Q3 alone. The bank’s performance was driven by steady 16.8 per cent credit growth, a 24.1 per cent increase in deposits.

A key highlight for Techcombank is its plan to list its securities arm, Techcom Securities, marking a decisive step towards its ambition to raise market capitalisation to $20 billion and expand its investment banking footprint.

VPBank delivered a remarkable surge, posting consolidated pre-tax profit of $816 million, up 47 per cent on-year, surpassing its 2024 result and fulfilling 81 per cent of its annual plan. In Q3 alone, profit jumped nearly 77 per cent, the highest in the past 15 quarters, supported by nearly 30 per cent credit growth and strong debt recovery.

VPBank also reinforced its image as a pioneer in marketing and youth engagement. As the title sponsor of the K-Star Spark in Vietnam mega concert and featuring top K-pop artists, the bank successfully expanded its digital ecosystem’s reach, boosting brand visibility and attracting millions of young potential customers.

Among mid-sized banks, ACB stood out for its stable and sustainable performance, posting pre-tax profit of $643 million, up 4.8 per cent on-year, with foreign exchange trading income up 93 per cent.

SHB followed with $492 million in profit, up 36 per cent, fulfilling 85 per cent of its annual target. LPBank achieved record profit of $384 million, up 9 per cent on-year, while PGBank surprised the market with a 44 per cent increase to $20 million, reflecting successful credit restructuring and cost control.

Smaller banks also delivered standout performances. KienlongBank doubled its profit to $61.5 million, completing 112 per cent of its full-year target and marking the highest result in its 30-year history.

NCB made a significant turnaround, posting post-tax profit of over $26 million and surpassing its full-year plan within nine months. VietABank and Nam A Bank maintained strong growth momentum, with profits of $42 million, up 32 per cent and over $152 million, up 16 per cent, respectively. Nam A Bank also expanded total assets by more than $5.3 billion during the period.

BAOVIET Bank, though smaller in scale, recorded the fastest profit growth in the system, up 81 per cent to $2.3 million.

Meanwhile, state-owned banks have yet to release their Q3 results. Vietcombank Securities noted that sector-wide credit growth accelerated toward the end of Q3, while net interest margins showed early signs of bottoming out at some banks. Lending portfolios are also shifting toward higher-yield sectors such as real estate, particularly home loans.

According to a survey on business trends of credit institutions conducted by the Monetary and Financial Stabilisation Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, institutions reported improving demand for banking services, including deposits, payments, card services, and loans.

“Loan and deposit demand improved more strongly than payment and card service usage. Corporate clients’ credit demand was rated higher than that of individual clients and other financial institutions,” the report stated.

However, analysts warned that beneath upbeat results lies a widening gap in performance, with large banks benefiting from low-cost capital and public investment links outpacing smaller and foreign-led lenders facing higher funding costs, tighter margins, and rising provisioning.

According to SSI Securities’ Q3 earnings estimates, several banks, including VPBank, HDBank, VietinBank, OCB, and MSB are expected to maintain strong growth momentum, supported by improved credit expansion from a low base last year.

“Sacombank may post the highest Q3 profit growth in the sector, estimated at $232 million, up 111 per cent on-year and 59 per cent on-quarter despite higher credit costs,” said Pham Luu Hung, research head and chief economist at SSI Securities. “Other major players such as OCB, VPBank, VietinBank, BIDV, and MSB are also expected to report over 30 per cent on-year profit growth.”