Ms. Tran Thi Thu Hang, CEO of Sunshine Group, has become the youngest leader in Vietnam’s banking industry after being appointed chairwoman of KienLongBank.

During the “season” of shareholders’ meetings, Vietnamese banks are confident about their plans to increase profits by several trillion dong in 2021. Several banks have set a record growth target of up to 30%-50%.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha on January 27 emphasised the importance of a circular economy 

In the context of favorable conditions on the stock market which saw the indices rising sharply over the past eight months, getting listed at the moment will give banks better valuation and make it easier for them to attract greater cash flows,

Fitch Solutions expected credit growth to weaken to 7% in 2020 from 13.7% in 2019, but the growth is predicted to pick up to 12% one year later.

Within five years from the day the FTA takes effect, Vietnam pledges to consider European credit institutions’ proposals to allow them to hold up to 49 percent of shares in two Vietnamese joint stock banks.

The banking sector is building a credit support programme with a value of $12.2 billion for firms hit by COVID-19, in an attempt to help ease their difficulties, according to an official of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Banks have advised account owners to be vigilant as fraudulent activities, both online and offline, are on the rise.

Though mergers and acquisitions in Vietnam’s banking sector have ballooned recently, tie-ups between foreign and local lenders are not without their drawbacks. 

2019 witnessed low credit growth rate.

2019 has been a good year for the banking sector. Most commercial banks performed well with profit results exceeding the targets set earlier in the year.

A major proportion of bank loans are provided for the business community, particularly the private sector and individuals.

Vietnam is committed to opening the financial market to foreign investors, particularly in financial services.

Ensuring information security is increasingly important as more online transactions are made. However, the budgets for information security allocated by financial institutions remain modest.

The total assets of commercial banks under state ownership accounted for 43.4% of the total of the banking sector, followed by joint stock commercial banks with 41.4%.

Growing attractiveness of Vietnamese banks' shares is thanks to a positive revamp and strong outlook of the sector, particularly as Vietnam is accelerating global economic integration.

Several local banks have reduced their interest rates in recent days, going against the banking sector’s general year-end trend of increasing rates to boost earnings.

The banking sector had made considerable headway into settling bad debt, restructuring credit institutions and developing the banking system two years since the National Assembly issued a resolution on the industry.

With great advantages being held by foreign banks, Vietnamese banks find it difficult to compete.