As of December 31, 2025, the total number of employees at these 28 banks stood at 241,416, down by 1,707 compared to a year earlier. The number of staff leaving the sector last year even exceeded the total headcount of the three smallest banks combined.

The sharpest reductions were recorded at LPBank, which had 9,597 employees at year-end 2025, down 1,592 from the end of 2024. The bank had already undertaken significant layoffs in late 2024 and early 2025.

VIB followed closely, cutting 1,396 employees to 9,927 staff members.

Ranking third in workforce reduction was Sacombank, with 15,851 employees, down 1,207 year-on-year.

A notable development occurred within the state-owned Big4 group. Vietcombank reduced its headcount by nearly 900 employees to 22,654, despite largely maintaining its branch and transaction office network.

Meanwhile, VietinBank closed around 100 transaction offices as part of its network restructuring. Its total workforce fell modestly by 204 employees to 22,288, still among the largest in the system.

Other banks reporting staff reductions included KienlongBank, ACB, ABBank, Eximbank, HDBank, OCB, TPBank, PGBank, Saigonbank, and BaoViet Bank.

In contrast, several lenders expanded their workforce. VPBank led the increase, adding 2,551 employees to reach 17,554 staff members.

MB Bank recruited 892 additional employees, bringing its total workforce to 13,047. Bank leaders have repeatedly emphasized that rather than cutting jobs, MB is hiring more personnel, particularly for digital transformation initiatives. The bank currently employs around 2,000 IT engineers, accounting for nearly 12% of its total workforce.

Other banks reporting higher staffing levels included Techcombank, Bac A Bank, SHB, NCB, Nam A Bank, BIDV, VietBank, MSB, SeABank, Viet A Bank, and BVBank.

Among the largest employers, BIDV remained the top commercial bank in terms of headcount, with 26,280 employees. In fact, the combined workforce of the 10 smallest banks totaled only about 25,000, still lower than BIDV’s alone.

Beyond the listed 28 banks, Agribank continued to lead the entire system, with nearly 41,000 employees as reported in its mid-2025 financial update, reflecting its extensive nationwide network.

The diverging employment trends underscore how Vietnam’s banking sector is simultaneously pursuing cost optimization, branch restructuring and digital transformation, leading to markedly different staffing strategies across institutions.

Tuan Nguyen