Many Banks See Deposits Fall; 'Big 4' Giant BIDV Loses 82 Trillion VND

A notable trend is emerging from the first-quarter 2026 financial reports of numerous Vietnamese banks: a significant contraction in customer deposits, even as credit growth remains robust. This presents a complex liquidity management challenge for the banking sector, forcing institutions to explore alternative funding channels such as bonds and stocks.

Leading the list of banks experiencing deposit outflows is BIDV, a major state-owned institution. The bank reported a substantial decrease of 82 trillion VND in customer deposits, bringing its total down to approximately 2.14 million billion VND, a nearly 3.7% drop from the beginning of the year. This contrasts sharply with its performance last year, when BIDV achieved a record high in customer deposits. Concurrently, MB and Techcombank (TCB) also witnessed declines in their deposit bases, shedding 15.5 trillion VND and 19.1 trillion VND, respectively.

While deposit growth has slowed, credit expansion continues. BIDV's outstanding loans increased by 2.4% in the first quarter, reaching nearly 2.43 million billion VND. Similarly, MB's lending portfolio surpassed 1.12 million billion VND, and TCB's loan book grew by nearly 4%. This widening gap between credit disbursement and deposit mobilization underscores the liquidity pressures these banks are navigating.

Several other banks, including Sacombank, ACB, TPBank, SeABank, MSB, PGBank, Saigonbank, and NamABank, also reported reductions in customer deposits. However, not all institutions are facing this trend; HDBank, Vietinbank, and Vietcombank, among others, managed to maintain positive deposit growth during the period. Adding to the sector's challenges, interbank interest rates spiked dramatically, reaching highs of 17-20% at times, levels not seen in a decade. This confluence of factors—high credit growth, slower deposit mobilization, and soaring interbank rates—creates a challenging environment for maintaining stable liquidity and profitability within Vietnam's banking system.