Major banks based on total assets in Vietnam 2022

As of March 2022, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), a state-owned financial institution, was the leading bank in Vietnam, with approximately 1.8 thousand trillion Vietnamese dong worth of assets. Fellow state-owned Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) ranked second in terms of assets, followed by the Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Foreign Trade Of Vietnam (Vietcombank), at 1.5 and 1.4 thousand trillion Vietnamese dong, respectively.

Vietnamese financial institution system

The central bank in Vietnam is the State Bank of Vietnam, which also serves as the main regulatory institution of the country’s banking system. Commercial banks are the most prevalent type of banking institutions in Vietnam, including state-owned commercial banks, joint-stock commercial banks, joint-venture banks, and wholly foreign-owned banks. While state-owned banks led in terms of total assets, joint-stock commercial banks outperformed other banking models in return on equity in 2021.

Digital banking on the rise

Many consumers in Vietnam still seem to have a stronger preference for traditional banks, as traditional banks are usually associated with trust, reputation, and good customer service, which Vietnamese consumers hold high regard for. As the country is considered quite late in digitalizing the banking system, there remains plenty of room for digital banking to grow in Vietnam. The internet and mobile banking boom during the COVID-19 pandemic is evidence of substantial growth potential, especially among tech-savvy younger generations. In addition to that, the number of FinTech users in Vietnam is also expected to double in seven years.