MB becomes second biggest Vietnamese bank by chartered capital

Military Bank (MB) has become the second largest Vietnamese bank, after Vietcombank, following a chartered capital hike to VND80,550 billion ($3.06 billion).

The bank on Monday announced a change in the number of voting shares from 6.1 billion to nearly 8.1 billion units, after finalizing the issuance of more than 1.95 billion shares to pay dividends to 115,707 existing shareholders.

The exercise rate is 32% (shareholders receive 32 new shares for every 100 shares they own). The capital source is taken from accumulated undistributed profit in 2024. The odd shares, more than 47,600 units, are transferred to the MB Trade Union to manage.

After the issuance, MB's charter capital has expanded by 32% to VND80,550 billion ($3.06 billion), surpassing many other large banks such as VPBank (VND79,339 billion), Techcombank (VND70,649 billion), and state-controlled BIDV (VND70,214 billion).

The military-run bank's charter capital is now only lower than state-controlled Vietcombank (VND83,557 billion).

MB is also one of the banks with the highest stock dividend payout ratio in the system in 2025, while the two major private banks, VPBank and Techcombank, do not implement such a plan. Paying large dividends helps MB increase its position in the industry's charter capital rankings.

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 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.

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%,.

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.

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

Ranking second among Vietnamese banking brands

MB is in the top 50 leading brands in Vietnam in 2025 and holds the second position in the Vietnamese banking group, according to Campaign Asia-Pacific.

The rankings, released in mid August, were conducted by Campaign Asia in collaboration with Pureprofile, based on a survey of more than 10,000 consumers in Southeast Asia. It recognizes leading brands in many fields, from fast-moving consumer goods, technology, and finance to digital services.

Specifically, MB ranked 26th, alongside many global "giants" and many Vietnamese brands such as Vietnam Airlines, Vietcombank, and Viettel.

Campaign Asia commented that the presence of many Vietnamese brands in the high rankings shows the trend of improving customer experience and affirms their competitiveness with multinational corporations. In particular, MB is considered an important pillar in the digital financial ecosystem of Vietnamese people.

An MB representative said that this result is a testament to the comprehensive digital transformation journey and customer-centric strategy of the Big 5 bank.