Banks expect higher profits in 2025

Bank representatives said they plan to increase market share and shift retail, with a focus on sustainable development to boost profits higher than last year.

In 2024, Vietnam banks see profit increases. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
In 2024, Vietnam banks see profit increases. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) - Although the deadline for announcing the 2024 financial statements has not yet come, banks already have full-year business results with positive profit growth, especially as credit increased sharply in Q4, 2024.

Banks with "billion-dollar" profits

According to data released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), by the end of 2024, the banking sector’s credit had increased 15.08%. As a result, many banks announced that they had exceeded the profit targets assigned by shareholders. Some banks estimated that profit growth for the whole year of 2024 would be double digits.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, Chairman of Vietcombank, said that the bank’s pre-tax profits will set new heights in 2024 (estimated to exceed the plan of 42 trillion VND), up 4.8% compared to 2023 and maintain the top position in the industry.

In addition to highest industry profits, Vietcombank reported positive indicators of business efficiency: NIM at 3.04%; ROA at 1.7%; ROE at 18.5%. Cost cutting measures helped the bank achieve this level of efficiency, with the bank stating it had streamlined some 1,000 operational procedures in 2024.

Meanwhile, BIDV could become the second most profitable bank in the system, after Vietcombank. It gained record profits in 2024, with pre-tax profits of 30 trillion VND (1.1 billion USD), up 12.4% year-on-year.

VietinBank also said that its revenue in 2024 will grow positively, and its profit will meet and exceed its plan. Previously, in early October 2024, VietinBank agreed on the business plan targets for 2024 with the parent bank's pre-tax profit target of 26.3 trillion VND, an increase of 8.7% compared to 2023.

For Agribank, information from the bank showed that in 2024, although business operations faced challenges in the general context of the economy, pre-tax profit still increased by over 8%. With this growth rate, Agribank's individual pre-tax profits in 2024 was 27.56 trillion VND, and consolidated profit was over 27.93 trillion VND.

Thus, the Big 4 group had a total pre-tax profit of more than 126.3 trillion VND (approximately 5 billion USD). In addition to the Big 4, a number of other private banks also announced their business results last year with strong profit growth.

vietcombank.png
Vietcombank is a top performer in terms of profit in the banking sector. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Sharing the data at the recent Investor Conference, Pham Nhu Anh, General Director of MB, said that the bank's individual pre-tax profit in 2024 was estimated to increase by about 12% compared to 2023 and reach 27.6 trillion VND. Consolidated pre-tax profit increased by about 9-10%, reaching nearly 29 trillion VND.

Along with MB, Techcombank is forecast to be the next bank to have a profit exceeding the 1 billion USD mark when setting a pre-tax profit target of 27.1 trillion VND in 2024. Previously, Techcombank's pre-tax profit in the first 9 months reached 22.8 trillion VND, up 33.5% compared to the same period in 2023 and achieved 84% of the plan.

Credit forecast to increase by 15%-16% in 2025

In 2025, the banking industry has set a growth target of 16%, so the economy's credit balance is expected to exceed 18.1 quadrillion VND by the end of 2025. The total outstanding balance could increase by nearly 2.5 quadrillion VND.

MBS Research assessed that in 2024, credit growth reached 15%. Forecasts for 2025 suggest with the strong recovery of the Vietnamese economy, credit growth could reach 15%-16%. This recovery will be driven by the recovery of production and trade activities, thanks to increased domestic and foreign demand. This will allow the SBV to maintain a loose monetary policy in 2025.

credit.jpg
By the end of 2024, the banking industry’s credit increases by 15.08%. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

The SBV’s latest survey showed that the majority of credit institutions forecast Q1 business performance - and that of the whole of 2025 - will be more positive than that last year.

Under the SBV's Q1 2025 survey on business trends of all credit institutions, conducted from November 25 to December 10, 2024, 74.6% and 84.2% of credit institutions predict their business situation will improve in the first quarter and the whole year of 2025, respectively.

In 2025, 85.1% of credit institutions expect their pre-tax profits to grow positively compared to 2024. Only 9.6% of credit institutions are still concerned about negative profit growth in 2025 and 5.3% forecast that their profits will remain unchanged.

Looking at Q1 and the full year for 2025, credit institutions expect demand for banking services to improve at a greater pace than in Q4, 2024. In particular, the demand for loans is expected to continue to improve more than deposits and payments.

However, credit institutions expect to see slight increases in the average price of products and services, mainly service fees for Q1 and subsequently, the whole year of 2025.

Credit institutions forecast that liquidity will continue to improve in Q1 and subsequently, the whole year of 2025, with capital raised to increase by 3.5% in the first quarter, and 12.8% in 2025.

According to the survey, the total amount of outstanding loans in the banking system is forecast to increase by 3.4% and 14.2% in the first quarter of 2025 and for the balance of the year, respectively. This is down 0.2 percentage points from the forecast in the previous survey. Short-term credit growth is predicted to be higher than the medium and long-term growth rate in most credit institutions in Q1, and for the balance of 2025./.

See more

At the launching ceremony of the "Empower Youth for Future Success in Ha Nam Province" programme. (Photo: CED)

Empower youth for future success in Ha Nam province

The "Empower Youth for Future Success in Ha Nam Province" program is designed to equip these young people with a comprehensive set of skills, including social, financial, employability, and entrepreneurship skills.

Omoda & Jaecoo Vietnam looks to expand EV charging network. (Photo: VNA)

Omoda & Jaecoo Vietnam looks to expand EV charging network

The partnership brings together industry leaders: EBOOST (EVMobility) specialising in personal charging solutions, EV Power in charging station development, EV Pay in digital payment services, Rabbit EVC in integrated charging solutions, and Nova Energy in large-scale renewable energy projects.

📝 OP-ED: Private economic sector with aspiration for groundbreaking development

📝 OP-ED: Private economic sector with aspiration for groundbreaking development

This message from Party General Secretary To Lam in his recent article "Developing private economic sector – A lever for a prosperous Vietnam" marks a turning point in the awareness about the private economic sector’s important role while touching on the aspiration for groundbreaking development of the country's most dynamic economic industry today.

Nguyen Doan Hoai Thu currently working at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese intellectuals in Luxembourg share experience in building int’l financial centre

Pham Thi Huong Ly, Master of Accounting and Audit, Financial Reporting Manager at Aztec Luxembourg which specialises in investment fund financial services, shared that drawing from her experience in Luxembourg, Vietnam, and Singapore to establish a successful international financial centre, it is necessary to build a transparent institutional framework that protects investor rights.

Geely Auto launches three competitively priced versions, Standard, Premium, and Flagship. (Photo: VNA)

Chinese auto giant stakes its claim in Vietnamese market

Geely clearly demonstrated its green and sustainable direction with the all-electric Geely EX5, which stands out with its powerful 218-horsepower electric motor, 320 Nm of torque, and a 60.2 kWh battery capacity allowing the vehicle to travel up to 430 kilometres on a full charge.

Workers process agricultural products for export. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam's small business growth soars to a four-year high

The survey findings released in Ho Chi Minh City on March 21 show that the growth momentum is expected to accelerate in 2025, with 92% of small businesses expecting to grow, the highest projection among 11 markets surveyed.