Asiamoney Best Bank Awards

Viet Capital Securities, founded in 2008, is a young investment bank compared to its peers. But it is led by an old hand in Vietnamese finance, chief executive Hai To. And its staff have plenty of international investment banking experience, including its head of investment banking, Vinh-Tuan Ngo, who has worked at the likes of Credit Suisse, Bank of America and the French sovereign fund.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, or Vietcombank, takes the award for Asiamoney’s best bank in Vietnam this year, thanks to its financial performance, asset quality and digital strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam was not hit as hard by the Covid-19 pandemic as many of its regional neighbours initially. But when the situation did begin to look gloomy, VPBank put creativity and money to work.

Sacombank, led by chief executive Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, is defined by its services for small and medium-sized companies in Vietnam. After all, the bank has spent three decades developing relationships and lending to SMEs, from micro businesses to the slightly larger clients. That commitment did not falter during the last 12 months: the bank continued to lend and even expanded its customer base in new sectors.

Digitalization is spreading throughout Vietnam’s banking industry, with most leading banks offering some mobile and online services. But HDBank, led by chief executive Pham Quoc Thanh, impressed Asiamoney the most with its diverse digital products serving retail clients, and for pioneering moves with blockchain and open banking technologies.