Among banks reporting results, SeABank stands out as its Q1 2026 pre-tax profit reached 1,388 billion VND, with no one-off gain from the disposal of PT Financial Company as in the same period last year. When the unusual factor disappeared, earnings deteriorated significantly. In addition, higher funding costs and intensified risk provisions weighed on bank performance. This is a common pattern across many banks in the context of rising bad debts among certain customer groups.
Eximbank also recorded a decline, with Q1 pre-tax profit of 338 billion VND, down more than 50% year-on-year. Although net interest income rose nearly 2%, non-interest income fell sharply. Notably, net interest income from services fell 75% to 36 billion, while foreign exchange trading activity posted a loss of more than 10 billion.
At the annual general meeting at the end of April, Mr. Tran Tấn Lộc, Eximbank's CEO, said the global economy remains unsettled, particularly the conflict in the Middle East disrupting supply chains, pushing oil prices higher and
fueling inflation. These fluctuations directly affect customers' production and business activities, thereby impacting credit quality and banks' results.
Profitability of some banks declines in a difficult environment.
Sacombank also joined the group with pre-tax profit down 42% to 2,106 billion. The main reason is a sharp rise in risk provisions, from 195 billion to 2,024 billion, more than tenfold year‑on‑year. Although net interest income fell 12% to 6,042 billion, non-interest segments continued to show positive signals, especially net income from other activities turning from a loss of 104 billion to a gain of 324 billion. However, this gain was not enough to offset the provisioning surge, resulting in lower overall profit. Nevertheless, the bank still achieved about 26% of its annual profit target.
LPBank also posted a 11% drop in pre‑tax profit to 2,826 billion, though net interest income rose 18%. At the AGM, LPBank leadership said 2026 will be the year the bank adopts a more cautious business plan. Mr Vu Quoc Khanh, LPBank’s CEO, said the bank's credit room this year is only 11.7%, lower than expectations, while Q1 banks were limited to roughly 25% of the approved credit growth. This leaves limited room for credit growth. In addition, funding cost pressures at the start of the year have squeezed net interest margins. Although LPBank retains advantages in digital platforms and a wide network, the net interest margin this year is unlikely to be sustained at 2025 levels. The bank is also actively building higher provisions to strengthen its resilience against market fluctuations.
