Many banks accelerate
An initial compilation of business results announced so far shows that many banks posted sharp year-on-year profit growth. Among those that have released figures, Viet Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) led in profit scale, with consolidated pre-tax profit in the first six months reaching nearly 18.9 trillion VND, up 68% and fulfilling nearly 46% of its annual plan. In the second quarter alone, VPBank recorded nearly 11 trillion VND in pre-tax profit, the highest level in the bank’s history.
Next was Viet Nam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), which closed the first half of the year with pre-tax profit of 18.5 trillion VND, up 22.5% year on year. The second quarter was the main driver of this breakthrough, setting a new profit peak of 9.67 trillion VND, up 22.4% over the same period.
Many medium- and small-sized banks also showed clear improvement. Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) posted pre-tax profit of more than 4.668 trillion VND, up 12.5% and completing 45% of its annual plan. Viet Nam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) recorded consolidated pre-tax profit of more than 3.4 trillion VND, up nearly 8% year on year.
Another bank posting high growth was An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank), which recorded pre-tax profit of 3.016 trillion VND, up 80% from the same period in 2025 and fulfilling 67% of its full-year plan. By the end of the second quarter, ABBank’s total assets had reached 260.65 trillion VND, meeting its target; outstanding loans stood at 138 trillion VND and capital mobilisation reached 163 trillion VND. Prosperity and Growth Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PGBank) recorded pre-tax profit of 439.7 billion VND, up 65.7% from the same period in 2025.
Among state banks, although full half-year profit figures have yet to be released, the operating scale of Vietcombank, VietinBank and Agribank continued to expand. According to forecasts by Rong Viet Securities Corporation (VDSC), the three banks leading in second-quarter profit all belong to the state-owned commercial banking group, ranked VietinBank, Vietcombank and BIDV, respectively. VietinBank could reach pre-tax profit of 15.417 trillion VND in the second quarter and 26.557 trillion VND in the first six months, thereby surpassing Vietcombank in profit scale during the period.
These results show that the resilience of many banks is improving clearly as the economy recovers, enterprises’ demand for capital rises and credit activity becomes more favourable than in the same period last year. However, the profit “picture” still shows divergence among banks.
New growth drivers
According to a report by MB Securities Joint Stock Company (MBS), after-tax profit in the second quarter for the banking group under its coverage is forecast to increase by about 15% year on year. For the first six months, profit growth is estimated at around 16%. The biggest driver remains credit. Thanks to positive credit growth, net interest income in the second quarter is forecast to rise by 15.7%, higher than the growth rate of non-interest income. The recovery of service revenue and collections from written-off debts also helped improve profits.
However, analysis organisations believe the banking sector is entering a new growth phase, with higher requirements for quality and sustainability. After a period of strong credit expansion in 2025, growth in 2026 is forecast to become more selective as the credit-to-GDP ratio is already high, liquidity remains under pressure and risk management requirements are becoming increasingly stringent.
According to FiinRatings, the sector’s net interest margin (NIM) may remain below 3% in 2026 due to still-high funding costs, while lending yields tend to narrow. This means the room to improve profits mainly through credit expansion will no longer be as abundant as in the previous period.
In this context, non-interest income will become one of the important drivers. “The outlook for non-interest income in the banking sector in 2026 remains positive, but the revenue structure will change significantly. If in 2025 the profits of many banks were strongly supported by securities investment and debt recovery, these factors will be difficult to maintain at an exceptional growth rate in 2026,” said Tran Thi Khanh Hien, Head of Research at MBS.
Instead, banks are stepping up the development of financial services, payments, bancassurance, asset management, digital banking and financial ecosystems, while applying technology to automate processes, reduce operating costs and improve customer experience.
Overall, first-half business results show that banking sector profits continued to maintain positive growth momentum. Notably, the State Bank of Viet Nam recently issued Circular No. 25/2026/TT-NHNN, amending several regulations on prudential limits and safety ratios in the operations of credit institutions. Accordingly, the maximum ratio of short-term capital that can be used for medium- and long-term lending has been raised from 30% to 40%.
Nguyen Quang Huy, CEO of the Faculty of Finance and Banking at Nguyen Trai University, said that easing prudential limits could help expand room for medium- and long-term credit and improve liquidity. Banks will have more conditions to expand lending, helping support credit growth in the second half of the year. However, the impact of the new regulation on banking sector profits in the second half of 2026 will depend on many factors, including the economy’s capacity to absorb capital, asset quality and each bank’s ability to maintain its net profit margin.
