FiinGroup'sVietnam Banking Report 2026 offers an evidence-based assessment of the sector’s performance and the strategic shifts that will shape its next phase of growth.

Vietnam’s banking sector enters 2026 with policy-supported but normalizing credit growth as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) places greater emphasis on financial stability, sector concentration and disciplined credit allocation. Systemwide momentum is slowing from the exceptional 2025 pace at 19.1%, and the central question is no longer how fast credit expands, but how prudently it is deployed, especially toward real estate developers, large corporates and longer-tenor projects where borrower concentration and execution risk are most acute.

The competitive landscape is becoming increasingly differentiated. Banks with strong CASA and granular deposit franchises are better positioned to contain funding costs, protect margins and sustain credit expansion. Meanwhile, banks are broadening their growth models through financial ecosystems, wealth management, payments, securities and data-led services, while expanding selectively into increasingly formalized household businesses, MSMEs, FDI manufacturing and trade-related activities.

The report provides comprehensive coverage of the banking sector across major dimensions, including credit growth and allocation, deposit mobilization, asset quality, liquidity, earnings quality, operational efficiency, profitability, capital adequacy, competitive developments, emerging growth opportunities, regulatory changes and macroeconomic conditions shaping the industry outlook.

Key highlights from the report shall include:

• Credit growth remains policy-supported, but the sector is entering a more selective phase as deposit mobilisation, liquidity and capital capacity become increasingly binding constraints on sustainable balance-sheet expansion.
• Real estate remains the main incremental credit engine, led by rapid growth in developer lending. This is increasing concentration, project execution, refinancing and capital-consumption risks across the banking system.
• Credit continues to outpace deposit growth, increasing banks’ reliance on higher-cost term and wholesale funding. Limited room to reprice lending rates is placing further pressure on NIM and making earnings increasingly dependent on credit volume.
• Reported asset quality improved in 2025, supported by rapid loan-book growth, recoveries and aggressive write-offs. However, early signs of renewed deterioration in 2026, slowing write-offs and thinner provisioning buffers leave banks with less room to absorb further loan migration and higher credit costs.
• Competition is shifting beyond balance-sheet scale towards ecosystem monetisation and ownership of customer transactions and data. Securities, insurance, wealth management, payments and data-led financial services are becoming increasingly important sources of recurring fee income and deeper customer engagement.
• The transition from Circular 41 to Circular 14 represents a significant step towards a more Basel-oriented capital framework, introducing stricter capital composition, additional buffers and more risk-sensitive RWA calculations. Banks will need to align credit expansion, dividend policy, capital raising and RWA optimisation with stronger data, modelling and governance capabilities.