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Vietcombank said it will tighten lending to speculative real estate projects and redirect credit toward segments that meet real demand at reasonable prices, following questions raised at its 2026 annual shareholders’ meeting held on April 24, 2026.
With a large shareholder holding nearly 90% of the stake, fewer individual investors attended Vietcombank’s meeting than at private banks. The discussion session lasted more than an hour, with questions centered on credit growth and funding into riskier sectors, including real estate.
One investor asked how the bank plans to finance infrastructure and real estate needs, citing Hanoi’s urban development trajectory toward 2050.
Chairman Nguyen Thanh Tung responded that Vietcombank’s share of lending to real estate is much lower than that of other banks. He said the bank is controlling exposure to the sector in line with market conditions, noting that real estate is cyclical and carries risks.
“We tightly control the exposure to products with high-end, speculative characteristics,” Mr. Tung said. He added that Vietcombank classifies loan segments, selects developers, and prioritizes projects that meet real demand at reasonable prices.
Earlier in February, Vietcombank reported that the interest rate for loans to buy apartments and townhouses with pink certificates at a branch in Ho Chi Minh City was 9.6% per year. The rate increased from a 6% fixed rate for 12 months in the same period of 2025.
In its 2025 audited financial statements, Vietcombank did not disclose the total loans to the real estate group. However, it reported holding real estate collateral valued at about 1.9 quadrillion dong, equivalent to about 70–72% of the collateral pool.
Beyond housing, industrial real estate and processing zones are among Vietcombank’s key targets. According to Mr. Tung, financing industrial park enterprises supports production, exports, and attracts foreign direct investment (FDI). As of the end of Q1, loans to this group were about 33,000 billion dong.
For social housing, Vietcombank said it accepts lower profits, lending at rates below the cost of funds under government programs aimed at promoting sustainable development.
For 2026, Vietcombank expects profit to rise by about 5% and the bad debt ratio to remain below 1.5%.
The bank targets credit growth of around 10%, with an upper range up to 13%, consistent with the State Bank of Vietnam’s cap. The same cap applies to VCBNeo, Vietcombank’s technology-focused digital bank, which the bank took over in October 2024. Vietcombank said VCBNeo’s credit growth is lower than that of other banks that received similar transfers (over 30%).
One shareholder asked why Vietcombank targets credit growth below NHNN’s limit and why the cap for the transferred digital bank is lower than peers in the same category.
Chief Executive Le Quang Vinh said Vietcombank aims for sustainable growth and intends to focus on high-quality customers to protect shareholder interests. “Our view is not to pursue rapid growth to avoid bad debts,” Mr. Vinh said.
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