A record-breaking syndicated financing for one of Vietnam’s most interesting banks tells us much about investor sentiment towards the borrower and the country.

Commercial banks are facing challenges, including an increase in bad debts because of Covid-19 and pressure that has forced them to increase charter capital. But bank shares remain attractive to investors.

Many listed banks witnessed weak performance of fee income growth in the first six months of the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many banks in Ho Chi Minh City are selling their mortgaged assets, mainly properties worth trillions of Vietnamese dong, to speed up the resolution of bad debts.

The Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) has announced a 30 trillion VND (over $1.28 billion) credit package to support its customers to overcome difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local banks may increase their pre-tax profits by 22.5 per cent on-year in 2020, SSI Securities Corporation's research unit has forecast.

 The Government supports the policy of allowing four State-owned banks to raise charter capital, said Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) Le Minh Hung.

Two of the five richest people in Vietnam had a poor start to the new year as they saw their net asset worth decrease.

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

Domestic banks are in a position to complete their 2019 profit targets if they finish the year on a high.

It is a rare combination where Vietnamese banks are growing fast and are quite profitable, said an expert at JP Morgan.

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.

For the first time in years, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has fallen out of the list of the top five profitable banks in the face of the strong growth of joint-stock commercial banks.

Vietnamese banks belong to a handful of examples that combine well two factors of high growth of profit and long-term stability.

Large banks as well as smaller ones are seeking foreign investors in today's competitive market.

The Asian Banker continues to honour the 500 strongest banks in the Asia-Pacific in 2019 with some familiar names from Vietnam.

Techcombank and Vietnamese ewallet service provider MoMo have warned their customers to be wary of scammers, noting that they should be more cautious when asked to provide their account details and personal information.

The US Federal Reserve’s latest rate cut will benefit commodity and equity markets in the short term, according to specialist Nguyen Tri Hieu.

The handling of bad debt among credit institutions would be audited this year in order to formulate recommendations for effectively implementing a National Assembly resolution, according to the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV).