However, behind these positive profit figures, pressures from funding costs, asset quality and the requirement to maintain sustainable growth still present significant challenges for banks in the year-end sprint.
Many banks establish profit records
The banking sector profit picture after nine months of 2026 is gradually being revealed through the recently published third-quarter financial statements. Notably, not only have large-scale asset banks maintained their growth momentum, but a number of small and medium-sized banks have also recorded positive business results, demonstrating positive shifts in business operations, cost management and revenue diversification.
Prominent among the group of banks that have announced their business results is Viet Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), with a consolidated pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year reaching nearly 30 trillion VND (1.14 billion USD), up nearly 47% compared to the same period last year, equivalent to the full-year results of 2025 and completing approximately 72.4% of the annual plan.
In the third quarter alone, the pre-tax profit of the bank reached over 11 trillion VND (419.4 million USD), marking two consecutive quarters of record-breaking results.
The main contribution to this result came from the parent bank with a profit of over 25.2 trillion VND (960.8 million USD), up nearly 48% against the same period. Notably, the restructuring process of GPBank has also initially brought about shifts, with this bank recording a pre-tax profit of over 1 trillion VND (38.1 million USD) in the nine months, nearly double the full-year results of 2025.
The profit growth momentum of VPBank has occurred alongside the expansion of its operational scale. By the end of September 2026, the consolidated total assets of the bank exceeded 1.6 quadrillion VND (60.99 billion USD), an increase of 27.8% compared to the end of 2025.
Outstanding credit extension of the parent bank reached 1.1 quadrillion VND (41.94 billion USD), up nearly 30%, focusing on the retail, corporate and small and medium-sized enterprise segments, with priority given to industrial production, infrastructure, science and technology, and green finance sectors.
Also recording positive business results, Viet Nam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) achieved a pre-tax profit of 28.9 trillion VND (1.1 billion USD) in the first nine months of the year, up 23.7% against the same period. In the third quarter alone, profit reached 10.4 trillion VND (396.5 million USD), up 25.8%, establishing the highest quarterly level ever.
The growth engine of Techcombank came from both credit and service activities. Total operating income for the nine months reached 45.2 trillion VND (1.72 billion USD), up 17.1%; net interest income increased by 16.9%, reaching 32 trillion VND (1.22 billion USD).
Notably, in the context of rising funding costs, the net interest margin (NIM) of the bank in the third quarter still improved to 3.5%, from 3.4% in the previous quarter.
In the group of banks with profits exceeding 10 trillion VND (386.97 million USD), Loc Phat Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPBank) recorded a cumulative pre-tax profit for the nine months of 10.42 trillion VND (397.3 million USD), up nearly 9% compared to the same period, completing 70% of the annual plan. In the third quarter alone, pre-tax profit reached 4.45 trillion VND (169.6 million USD), up 29%.
This result creates a foundation for LPBank to target the pre-tax profit goal of 14.98 trillion VND (571.2 million USD) approved by the general meeting of shareholders at the beginning of the year. By September 30, total assets of the bank reached 694.18 trillion VND (26.47 billion USD), up 29% against the same period; outstanding loans to customers reached 481.57 trillion VND (18.36 billion USD), up 23% compared to the beginning of the year.
Not only large banks, but medium-sized lenders are also recording significant improvements in business efficiency.
At An Binh Joint Stock Commercial Bank (ABBank), pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year reached 4.3 trillion VND (164 million USD), completing nearly 96% of the full-year plan. Total operating income reached approximately 7.8 trillion VND (297.5 million VND), up 48% against the same period, while operating expenses only increased by 21%. As a result, the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) decreased sharply from 33% to 27%.
As of the end of September, total assets of ABBank exceeded 276 trillion VND (10.52 billion USD), up more than 25% compared to the beginning of the year; outstanding loans to customers reached 134.59 trillion VND (5.13 billion USD) and customer deposits reached 152.91 trillion VND (5.83 billion USD), up 15%.
Meanwhile, Prosperity and Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (PGBank) recorded a pre-tax profit after provisioning of 630 billion VND (24 million USD), an increase of 27% compared to the same period in 2025. Total net revenue increased by 9.6%, in which non-interest income from service activities and foreign exchange trading more than doubled.
As of September 30, total assets of PGBank reached 92.64 trillion VND (3.53 billion USD), up 4.3% compared to the end of 2025. Outstanding loans to customers increased by around 7.1% compared to the end of 2025. Customer deposits grew steadily, reaching 5.8% compared to the end of 2025; in particular, demand deposits increased strongly, reaching 32%, creating more headroom for business operations and credit expansion.
Along with development in scale, PGBank also accelerated the consolidation of its financial capacity by increasing equity capital to 8.36 trillion VND (318.9 million USD), up 27.8% compared to the end of 2025; at the same time, increasing charter capital to 7.33 trillion VND (279.3 million USD), up 33.2% compared to 5.5 trillion VND (209.7 million USD) at the end of 2025, contributing to enhancing financial capacity and meeting operational safety requirements.
Diversifying income streams, controlling risks
One of the notable points from the nine-month business results is the increasing contribution of non-interest income sources. This is considered an important direction in the context that banking operations continue to face pressure from funding costs, while the requirement to reduce lending interest rates to support businesses and the economy is growing larger.
At Techcombank, income from service activities in the nine months reached 11.8 trillion VND (449.9 million USD), up 40% compared to the same period. In the third quarter alone, this source of income reached 4.2 trillion VND (160.1 million USD), up 44.6%. As a result, the proportion of service income in total operating income increased from 21.9% to 26.2%.
The largest contribution came from letters of credit, cash and payment operations, with revenue of 4.9 trillion VND (186.8 million USD), up 136.6%. Insurance service fee income reached 1.7 trillion VND (64.8 million USD), up 106.1%, while card service fee income reached 1.5 trillion VND (57.2 million USD), up 29%.
However, not all service sectors grew smoothly. Investment banking service fees at Techcombank decreased by 17.5% to 2.8 trillion VND (106.7 million USD). Net income from other operations, excluding recovery of bad debts written off, also decreased by 48.2%.
These developments show that diversifying income streams can help reduce dependence on traditional credit, but service activities themselves are also significantly affected by market conditions.
At LPBank, cumulative net non-interest income reached 7.49 trillion VND (285.5 million USD), accounting for 39% of total operating income. Notably, net income from service activities reached 5.98 trillion VND (227.9 million USD), up to 136% against the same period, contributing around 80% of total non-interest income.
In addition, foreign exchange trading brought in 889 billion VND (33.9 million USD) in net income, up 241%.
The sharp increase in non-interest income sources helps LPBank have more headroom to improve operational efficiency, especially as the bank continues to deploy interest rate reduction programmes to support customers. On October 19, LPBank announced a reduction in lending interest rates of up to 2% per annum, while simultaneously reducing deposit interest rates by 0.5-0.6 percentage points per annum for tenors of six months or more.
This reality places a requirement on banks to balance profit targets and the responsibility to support the economy. As net interest margins come under pressure, growing service income, cutting operating costs and improving credit quality become critical factors to maintain business efficiency.
Alongside diversifying revenue streams, cost control is also creating a difference in profits among banks. At ABBank, the reduction of the CIR to 27% is one of the important factors helping business results improve.
The bank has also accelerated the digitisation of transaction activities, deploying a counter transaction model on a digital platform from August 2026, thereby step-by-step reducing manual procedures and enhancing customer service efficiency.
Behind the positive profit figures, banks also face numerous challenges that need to be resolved. The pressure to maintain liquidity and control funding costs still needs to be placed within the long-term growth equation, especially when banks must simultaneously ensure the ability to supply credit to the economy and meet capital adequacy and risk management requirements.
