Digital asset business to be part of Military Bank ecosystem

MB leaders unveiled the information at their online investors conference on Tuesday, which gathered over 300 representatives from investment funds and securities companies.

"Expanding into digital asset business is inevitable so that MB's 33 million customers will have full options when using our ecosystem, from banking services, fund certificates, stocks, and bonds to digital assets," said vice chairman Vu Thanh Trung.

Vietnam has officially legalized digital assets with the approval of the Law on Digital Technology Industry by the National Assembly, the country's legislature, on June 15. A draft resolution on piloting the country's digital asset market is being finalized and expected to be submitted to the government within August.

Trung stressed that MB boasts technological strength with over 2,000 technology experts and large investments in platforms. "In 2025, digital transformation will continue to be a growth driver of MB".

Key digital platforms such as App MBBank, BIZ MBBank, and Banking-as-a-Service (BAAS) services have strongly contributed to MB's growth in terms of customer numbers, CASA (current account savings account), and revenue.

By the end of June 2025, the number of MB customers reached nearly 33 million, a 13-fold rise over the past five years.

Digital transformation helped the bank attract an additional 2.2 million customers so far this year, and the figure is expected to reach 4-4.5 million this year.

MB's digital channel transaction scale maintained its number one position in the Vietnamese market with VND8.6 trillion ($327.68 million) in total revenue, accounting for 38% of the the bank's total. The ratio is expected to reach 40% by the end of 2025.

In addition, MB is deploying BAAS and API (Application Programming Interfaces) models at high speeds. The bank is leading the Vietnamese market in this business model.

It had 783 partners connecting with its BAAS in 2024 and the BAAS acquired 228 new customers in H1.

Currently, 1,210 APIs have been developed internally and the figure is expected to reach 1,600 by the end of 2025. MB is also deploying 91 mini apps with VND8,000 trillion ($304.82 million) in transaction value recorded in H1 alone.

Recently, MB successfully provided a core system integrating medical information technology for a hospital in Vietnam. This is the first step for MB to contribute more to the country's medical ecosystem.

Maintaining Big 5 position, leading many core industry indicators

MB is increasingly affirming its solid position among the five largest banks in Vietnam thanks to its strong financial foundation, outstanding profitability, and pioneering digital transformation capacity.

By end-June, its total assets reached VND1,290 trillion ($49.15 billion), ranking in the Top 5 of the Vietnamese banking industry, only behind long-standing state-controlled banks (Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, and Agribank).

This is the result of a sustainable growth process over many consecutive years, reflecting its stable capital mobilization capacity, the ability to serve diverse customer needs, and a vision to expand market share.

It posted a pre-tax profit of VND15.89 trillion ($606.43 million) in H1/2025, up 18% from a year earlier and meeting half of its full-year target.

The lender led the pack that already reported H1 earnings, ahead of peers such as BIDV, Techcombank, and VPBank.

Its operating income jumped 24.6% to VND32.6 trillion ($1.24 billion), driven by a 37% surge in service income.

The sharp increase highlights MB’s push to diversify revenue streams and reduce reliance on lending, especially as credit growth faces tighter regulatory oversight.

MB's credit and capital mobilization in H1 grew over 12%, but revenue expansion reached more than 25%, said Nguyen Thanh Nga, the bank's chief fiancial officer (CFO).

Net interest income (NII) grew 23% over the same period last year thanks to the bank focusing on growth and adjusting its credit structure. Net fee income (NFI) surged 37% year-on-year.

MB has also managed its cost to income ratio (CIR) well, with cost growth rate being half of revenue growth rate.

“Compared to the same period last year, MB’s growth momentum this year is better thanks to its taking advantage of the higher ceiling level for credit growth after the bank received the mandatory transfer of the zero-dong bank (OceanBank), now named MBV,” she said.

The non-peforming loan (NPL) ratio has been controlled at 1.6% for the whole group and 1.47% for the bank alone.

According to the CFO, NPL will be tightly controlled in 2025, targeting 1.5% for the bank and a consolidated figure of 1.7% for the group by the end of the year.

Member companies all operated efficiently in their own fields, Nga noted. Their revenue increased by 25% year-on-year, while profit rose by 39%, contributing about 9% to the group's total profit.

Nga added that salary payment of MB rose by 16% year-on-year in H1. The growth is "suitable" given the bank's demand. There were no layoffs in the period as the bank deployed new business models and rearranged its personnel within the ecosystem.

Continuous innovations as growth driver

Luu Trung Thai, chairman of MB's board of directors, said over the past two years, MB has applied a reformed, stricter governance mechanism, along with which, member companies are actively innovative and creative in all activities.

"It can be seen that these have had a clear effect in the first half of 2025, reflected in the positive business results of the member companies," he told the conference.

All the member companies have maintained or improved their market share and position in the market in Q2/2025.

Military Insurance Corporation (MIC) ranked in the Top 4 in terms of insurance premium revenue. MB Shinsei Consumer Credit Finance Limited Liability Company (Mcredit) ranked in the Top 3 among consumer finance companies in the country. MB Securities Joint Stock Company (MBS) ranked in the Top 7 in terms of securities brokerage market share in Q2/2025.

Notably, recently, MIC, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchnage as MIG, secured a Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” (Good), both with a stable outlook, from global credit rating agency AM Best.

He added that MB is applying and researching many AI applications and solutions to protect customers and for new products.

Sharing about the strategic orientation for the last six months of the year, Dam Nhan Duc, chief economist of MB, emphasized that MB will attract many new customers and effectively exploit the base of existing customers.

At the same time, it will expand capital mobilization in line with credit demand, focus on CASA, and optimize terms and capital sources to maintain the cost of fund (COF) at 3.1-3.2%.

"MB will also strengthen group synergy, cross-sell, and improve the efficiency of its subsidiaries. It strives to increase the productivity of the whole group by about 10% in 2025," Duc noted.

Chairman Thai added that with the current indicators and situation of the economy and given MB's competitive edge, MB is likely to achieve and exceed this year's plans.