Banks accept many types of collateral, including real estate, movable assets, inventories, shares and other valuable papers, as well as assets to be formed in the future and future receivables.

Real estate, however, remains banks’ preferred choice. As a result, property typically accounts for a large share of the total value of collateral held by lenders.

At some banks, real estate represents more than 80% of total collateral value. The proportion reaches 86% at ACB and 83% at BVBank, while at Vietcombank it stands at 71%.

According to commercial banks’ consolidated financial statements for the first half of the year, 20 lenders disclosed detailed figures on property pledged as collateral as of June 30, 2026. The combined value stood at around $368 billion, up approximately $22.5 billion from Dec. 31, 2025.

The three banks with the largest absolute value of real estate collateral were Vietcombank, at approximately $75.3 billion, up around $3.5 billion; ACB, at about $43.7 billion, up around $3.5 billion; and MB, also at roughly $43.7 billion, after an increase of around $4.9 billion.

Each of the remaining 17 banks reported less than approximately $38 billion in property collateral. Sacombank recorded more than $33.9 billion, VPBank over $29.9 billion, LPBank more than $19.4 billion, HDBank around $18.6 billion, VIB more than $16.2 billion and Techcombank over $14 billion.

Notably, only five of the 20 banks reported a decline in property collateral from the beginning of the period. Sacombank recorded a decrease of around $1.03 billion, ABBank about $399 million, Viet A Bank roughly $171 million, VIB around $26.5 million and Nam A Bank approximately $7.3 million.

Among Vietnam’s “Big Four” state-owned commercial banks, Vietcombank was the only lender to disclose the value of property collateral in its financial report for the first half of 2026, at nearly $76 billion. The other three - Agribank, VietinBank and BIDV - also held real estate collateral worth tens of billions of dollars each, according to figures at the end of 2025.

According to their 2025 financial statements, real estate pledged as collateral at the four state-owned commercial banks alone was valued at approximately $403 billion.

Of that amount, property collateral at VietinBank stood at around $104.5 billion, BIDV at $98.8 billion, Vietcombank at $71.9 billion and Agribank at approximately $128.1 billion.

Speaking to VietNamNet, an employee in the corporate banking division of a joint-stock commercial bank said real estate is commonly selected as collateral because its legal documentation is relatively clear, while appraisal and valuation are also more straightforward.

“Every property pledged as collateral has a certificate of land-use rights and asset ownership, together with related documents that establish its legal status. Even if these documents are lost or damaged, they can be reissued,” the employee said.

That represents an advantage over certain specialized assets or those with highly specific characteristics.

Beyond legal considerations, real estate in areas with active property markets also benefits from readily available reference data. Banks can collect information on transaction prices, land prices and comparable properties to support their valuation processes.

“Real estate has a relatively rich pool of reference data. In major markets, banks can compare a property with similar assets to determine its value, which is easier than valuing specialized assets such as imported X-ray scanning systems,” the bank employee said.

A credit officer at one of the Big Four banks said the relatively lower risk associated with real estate also means loans secured by property typically carry lower interest rates than loans backed by higher-risk collateral.

“With assets such as machinery and equipment, banks can incur substantial costs when trying to dispose of collateral. They may have to put the assets up for auction several times without attracting a buyer. By contrast, for real estate in areas with active markets, finding a buyer is usually easier,” the employee said.

Property values, however, remain vulnerable to market conditions, planning decisions, legal issues and the liquidity of individual assets. The large proportion of real estate in banks’ collateral portfolios therefore does not mean lenders are insulated from risk when property values or market liquidity fluctuate.

Tuan Nguyen