•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Only 9.3% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam can obtain bank financing, far below the 56.1% rate for large firms. The gap is linked to credit risk: about 70% of SMEs fall into the medium-to-high credit risk category. As a result, banks face higher costs per unit of capital and respond by raising interest rates and fees, requiring higher collateral, or limiting lending—further constraining SME credit.
SMEs continue to be under-served even though the private sector plays a central role in Vietnam’s economy. The Politburo’s Resolution 68 highlights the private sector and SMEs as a key growth engine. In a volatile environment, SMEs’ financial health is more easily affected, and business risk rises. An uncertain business environment can therefore widen long-standing capital barriers.
Fiingroup’s 2025 report indicates that SMEs account for roughly 95% of all firms in Vietnam, but directly contribute less than 20% of revenue and under 10% of total imports/exports. A core reason cited is limited access to capital: only about 9.3% of SMEs can borrow from banks, compared with 56.1% of large firms.
Fiingroup also reports that about 60% of large enterprises fall into the low credit-risk category, while more than 70% of SMEs are in the medium-to-high risk bands. In practical terms, smaller firms face higher financial risk, including default risk, which makes banks more cautious in lending to SMEs than to larger firms.
The World Bank’s 2024 report Boosting SMEs Finance for Growth estimates that the financing gap for micro, small and medium enterprises in developing economies is about 19% of GDP, or roughly $5.7 trillion. The report points to information asymmetry and high transaction costs as major drivers.
Information asymmetry arises when borrowers know more about their business than lenders. Vietnamese SMEs face especially large information gaps because financial reporting is not standardized, audits are not always conducted, and tax authorities have flagged the prevalence of two sets of books. Without clear visibility into cash flows and stability, banks tend to choose safer options such as loan refusals, higher collateral requirements, and higher interest rates. Lending to SMEs also involves higher transaction costs due to smaller deal sizes.
A Big4 bank executive said that a loan of 1 billion dong to an SME can require roughly the same manpower and time as a 100 billion dong loan to a large enterprise. The lending process typically includes document collection, financial statement assessment, cash-flow evaluation, collateral checks, credit approval, disbursement, post-loan monitoring, and risk management. When processing costs are spread across smaller loan amounts, underwriting becomes less economically attractive, reducing profitability per credit file for SMEs.
Analysts argue that simply injecting more capital does not address the root financing gap. The World Bank warns that subsidized financing “on favorable terms” for SMEs can undermine private financial institutions and hinder long-run development of the private credit market.
Instead, the policy focus should shift toward strengthening market fundamentals. A priority is building robust credit-information infrastructure to reduce information asymmetry. Expanding data collection, sharing and standardizing credit data can help lenders price risk more accurately.
In this context, digital banking is presented as a tool to harness and operate the needed data system. Digitizing processes and using data-driven scoring can reduce underwriting costs and expand SME access to credit. Automation and digital records may also allow banks to move from selecting only “safe customers” to broadening service at lower costs.
Nam Nguyen Van Nam, Head of Corporate Information at Fiingroup, said: “In the context of SMEs’ average lifespan of about eight years, banks prefer those operating at least five years. These firms demonstrate governance and cash-flow stability. Roughly 65% of SMEs have operated for more than five years. Yet among those still without credit, about 40% have been in operation for more than five years and fall in the medium-to-low risk, representing a potential customer segment for lenders.”
Some argue that digital transformation alone would only address the surface of the problem without a high-quality data foundation. The key bottleneck is the ability to assess risk based on input data: if data do not reflect the true state of the business, are not standardized, or are not updated in time, digitization may speed up processes without improving credit decisions. In such cases, model risk can rise and banks may revert to cautious lending behavior.
The full article content is published in Vietnam Economic Journal issue 18+19-2026, released May 9, 2026. It discusses proposals for data-based lending and reforms to SME credit guarantees, including potential reductions in credit targets if risk rises and even a temporary pause on new lending to real estate.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
