Vietnam’s four biggest State-owned banks have an urgent need for capital increase in 2023 as their charter capital is too low, with some unable to ensure the regulated minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR), according to industry insiders.

2022 financial reports have not been officially released, but banks have estimated satisfactory profits despite significant challenges, including the bond crisis and the quiet real estate market.

Most banks are quoting deposit interest rates under 9.5 percent as agreed. But some are paying higher than the quoted rates.

Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has released a notice on the termination of its capital alliance with Eximbank and a plan to invest in another Vietnamese bank.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has pumped more money into circulation after three weeks of consecutive net withdrawal. Overnight interest rates are high, while liquidity demand has increased on pre-Tet days.

The power war at commercial banks has become hot, with some banks changing managers regularly in recent years.

Congestion and errors in bank transactions have been reported because of a sharp increase in payment transactions before Lunar New Year 2023 (Tet).

The banking industry will continue to face difficulties in 2023 in the context of the real estate market downtrend and the less positive import and export outlook, analysts forecast.

With a dim outlook for the banking industry, most securities firms expect conservative profit growth for banks in 2023.

Many experts made a forecast that there will be many blockbuster deals along with the program of restructuring and forced transfer of weak banks in the coming time.

Amid rising non-performing loans (NPLs), many banks have strongly increased their loan-loss reserve (LLR) funds to readily face uncertainties in the future.

The SBV last week raised the 2022 credit growth target for the domestic banking system by 1.5-2 percentage points from its previous target of 14 per cent, allowing commercial banks to pump an additional VND240 trillion into the economy.

The State Bank of Vietnam has raised the domestic banking system’s credit growth by 1.5-2.0 percentage points from the previous 14% limit on December 5.

Most banks reported strong profit growth from the foreign exchange business in the first three quarters of this year thanks to the sharp appreciation of the US dollar, Q3 2022 financial statements showed.

After Vietcombank, HDBank has recently announced to lower lending interest rates for enterprises doing business in many industries with a total interest rate reduction of up to VND120 billion.

The race to lure deposits among banks is becoming fiercer as more customers are selected medium- and long-term savings to get higher interest rates.

The recent sharp increase in deposit interest rates has pulled lending interest rates up by 3-4 percent per annum over the same period last year.

Bank stocks are sold out strongly, despite good business results, due to pressure of corporate bonds nearing maturity. Many stocks even fell to the lowest range in last two years as investors feared cash flow risks.

Bank stocks continue to lag despite lenders posting positive profit growth.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SVB) has withdrawn VND138.84 trillion from the last seven trading sessions and raised operating interest rates. The VND/USD exchange rate has cooled down.