Mixed performance by Vietnam commercial banks in Q3

Vietnamese commercial banks have had a mixed third quarter, with some reporting substantial profit gains while others seeing steep declines or even losses.

According to statistics compiled by The Investor, 26 listed banks in the country earned profits of VND56.06 trillion ($2.22 billion) in Q3, up 17% from a low base in the same period last year.

In terms of absolute value, six banks – Vietcombank, Techcombank, VietinBank, VPBank, HDBank and LPBank – saw profit increase by over VND1 trillion ($39.53 million) compared to the same quarter last year.

State-controlled Vietcombank maintained its position as the sector leader, reporting after-tax profits of VND8.57 trillion ($338.74 million), up nearly 19% year-on-year, with all segments except foreign exchange trading showing growth.

LPBank delivered the most impressive performance with Q3 net profits of VND2.33 trillion ($92.1 million), 2.3 times higher than the same period last year. The surge was driven by a significant increase in service income, which skyrocketed from VND164 billion to VND1.02 trillion.

VPBank also showed remarkable growth, with profit soaring 71.5% year-on-year to VND4.16 trillion ($164.43 million), the highest in two years. HDBank and VietinBank reported profit increases of 41% and 33%, respectively.

Private lender Vietbank saw the most striking profit growth, with VND327 billion ($12.93 million), representing an 8.4-fold increase from the same period last year.

The bank has expanded its network to 124 branches, which is set to increase further to 132 by the end of this year. As a result, its net interest margin (NIM) more than doubled to VND2.11 trillion ($83.4 million) in the first nine months of this year, including VND852 billion in Q3.

NamABank also expanded its reach, with nearly 250 transaction points as of early October, resulting in a 53% increase in NIM to VND2 trillion ($79 million) and a 109% jump in after-tax profit to VND870 billion in Q3.

Not all banks fared well in the third quarter.

Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) reported Q3 profits of VND347 billion ($13.72 million), down 68% year-on-year.

Several other banks including Maritime Bank, Vietnam International Bank (VIB), Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) and KienlongBank experienced double-digit profit drops.

ABBank was the only bank to report a loss in Q3/2024 of VND285 billion ($11.26 million), compared to a profit of VND24 billion in the same period last year.

ABBank’s service revenue plummeted from VND189 billion to VND82 billion; and it suffered unspecified losses in foreign exchange trading and securities investment. The lender’s operating costs remained stable, but credit risk provisioning doubled to VND526 billion.

Its lackluster Q3 performance left ABBank with a pre-tax profit of VND239 billion ($9.45 million) for the first nine months, down 66% year-on-year, achieving only 24% of the year's target; while its after-tax profit dropped 68% to VND181 billion.

The bank attributed its lower-than-expected profits to increased bad debt provisioning and falling market demand due to the impacts of natural disasters.