The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) obtained a large amount of foreign currencies in the first half of 2019, pushing foreign exchange reserves recorded in the period to the highest level to date.

Four Vietnamese firms have been named in this year’s Global 2000 list by Forbes, an annual ranking of the world’s biggest and most powerful public companies.

Banks, which all reported big profits for 2018, are using the money to improve their financial capability.

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).

VietNamNet Bridge - Raising charter capital is the biggest challenge in 2019 not only for small joint stock banks but also for big state-owned banks.

VietNamNet Bridge - Commercial banks only have one month to implement business plans set earlier this year and raise charter capital to meet international standards.

BIDV, one of Vietnam’s largest banks, is issuing 603 million shares to the foreign strategic investor KEB Hana Bank from South Korea. If the deal succeeds, KEB Hana Bank would hold 17.6 percent of shares in BIDV. 

The world’s leading credit rating firms have ranked Vietnamese commercial banks at higher positions this year, reflecting the success of monetary policy and efforts made by commercial banks.

The big five are state -owned banks Agribank, BIDV, VietinBank and Vietcombank, and Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), a joint stock bank with the fifth largest total assets in the system.

Investors, impressed by banks’ high profits, have been rushing to buy bank shares, pushing prices up.

The finance reports from the first half of the year show that Vietnam has three banks with combined total assets exceeding VND1,000 trillion, or $50 billion, while 11 banks have total assets of over $10 billion.

Viet Nam’s Vietin Bank finished seventh in the 2017 Asian Women’s Club Samruk Kazyna Volleyball Championship at the Boris Alexandrov Sports Palace in Kazakhstan yesterday.

Viet Nam’s Vietinbank were headed home after losing to Japan’s Hisamitsu Springs in the Asian Women’s Club Samruk Kazyna Volleyball Championship in Kazakhstan on Saturday.

VietNamNet Bridge - Young commercial banks in Vietnam have geared up to automate retail banking services in order to compete with older banks.

VietNamNet Bridge - The race of candidates for ‘hot seats’ at commercial banks is heating up as the shareholders’ meeting season has begun.

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Vietnamese banks have reported high growth rates in retail banking in recent years. 

VietNamNet Bridge - 2016 was expected to be tough year for the banking sector, but commercial banks all reported considerable increases in profit. Will this occur in 2017?

Of the three state-owned banks, the largest in the economy, BIDV has the lowest CAR (capital adequacy ratio). 

BIDV is the No 1 bank in terms of total assets and VietinBank is No 1 in stockholder equity, networks and high pay for workers.

VietNamNet Bridge - Experts believe that the state should not only sell its shares in 12 large corporations as instructed by the Prime Minister, but also sell shares in other enterprises, including commercial banks.