Fitch upgrades Vietcombank, Vietinbank ratings, outlook positive

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Vietcombank and Vietinbank to ‘BB’ and MBBank to ‘BB-‘, while affirming that for Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam and ANZ Bank Vietnam at ‘BB’.

The global provider of credit ratings upgraded the IDR of Vietinbank and Vietcombank from 'BB-' and their Government Support Rating (GSR) to 'bb' from 'bb-'.

Both lenders’ outlook on the IDR are positive, in line with Vietnam's sovereign rating of 'BB' with a positive outlook.

Fitch Ratings attributed the improvements to the state support, their roles as important state-controlled banks, favorable economic environment, steady funding and liquidity, and other factors.

It said: “The authorities have strong propensity to provide extraordinary support to the banking system in general,” and Vietinbank and Vietcombank in particular.

The two are both "Big 4" banks in Vietnam with the state as majority shareholder.

The agency added that Vietnam’s economy grew robustly 8.8% in the first nine months of this year on the back of broad-based recovery and export growth. It expected the growth “to trend at above 6% over 2023 and 2024.”

The IDR of MBBank was upgraded from ‘B+’ to ‘BB-‘, in line with the upward revision of the Government Support Rating (GSR) to 'bb-' from 'b'. The outlook on the IDR is positive, mirroring the outlook on Vietnam's sovereign rating (BB).

Sovereign support underpins ratings, supportive economic environment, moderate franchise expanding, asset-quality risks manageable, capitalization likely to improve, leading risk-adjusted returns, and steady funding profile were reasons for the upgraded ratings of MBBank.

Military-run Viettel Group and State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) are the two biggest shareholders of MB Bank, holding a 14.14% stake and 9.42% stake, respectively. The state ownership at the bank is 32.42%.

For Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam and ANZ Bank Vietnam, their Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating and Long-Term Local-Currency IDR were affirmed at ‘BB’ and “BBB-‘, respectively. The outlooks are positive.