Five state-owned banks dominate Vietnam's banking system, with 80% of assets in the sector. The one bank that stands out is Vietcombank. In technology, it is way ahead of the competition. Of the 220 ATMs in Vietnam, 150 belong to Vietcombank. And the demand for them is growing rapidly. Some 36,000 new cards were issued last year, 2,000 more than the year before. The bank's financials are also getting stronger. Although total loans increased by 30%, the bank managed to deal with and dispose of over 93% of its problem loans. Overdue debt now stands at just 2.5%.
Given such loan growth the bank was forced to increase its deposits. By raising the interest paid on them it attracted 13% more in deposits than in the previous 12 months, with this figure set to increase further. It was the first commercial bank to deal in foreign exchange and still has the largest market share in the inter-bank foreign exchange market. Vietcombank is equally successful in international trade payments. It has a 28% market share of export payments and a 29% market share of import payments.