Vietnam’s private lender Sacombank to trim payroll, acquire securities broker

Sacombank, a mid-sized private lender in Vietnam, plans to downsize its headcount in 2025-2026 as part of its push toward digital transactions.

Last year, the bank (HoSE: STB) laid off nearly 500 employees, reducing its workforce to 17,058 as of end-2024, chairman Duong Cong Minh told shareholders at the bank’s 2025 AGM on Friday.

The move is part of Sacombank’s streamlining strategy, which aims to cut staff at traditional transaction offices amid a broader digitalization effort, Minh elaborated.

Sacombank plans to spend up to VND1.5 trillion ($57.6 million) to acquire a controlling stake – over 50% – in a securities brokerage firm, making it a subsidiary, Minh said without naming the targeted company.

Currently, Sacombank holds a 13.8% stake in SBS Securities but is not looking to expand the stake, Minh added.

Sacombank aims to increase total assets by 10% to VND819.8 trillion ($31.5 billion) this year, while keeping its bad debt ratio below 2%. The bank targets a pre-tax profit of VND14.65 trillion ($563 million), up 15% from 2024.

In the first quarter of 2025, the bank posted a pre-tax profit of VND3.67 trillion ($141.2 million), up 38.4% year-on-year. However, its bad debt ratio rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.2%, mainly due to the economic slowdown and the struggling real estate sector.

Sacombank shares closed at VND39,150 ($1.5) each on Friday.