Vietinbank ratings affirmed as Fitch keeps stable outlook

Traders Union
All News
Financial News
Vietinbank rating stable outlook

Highlights

Fitch affirms Vietinbank’s long-term issuer default rating at BB+/Stable, reflecting likely extraordinary state support due to majority state ownership and systemic importance.
Vietinbank's non-performing loan ratio remains steady at 1.2% at end-1H26, with asset quality score revised to bb-/stable as legacy impaired loans are written off.
Fitch Core Capital ratio rises to 7.3% at end-2025 from 7.0% in 2024, with profitability and cost efficiency expected to improve as regulatory changes support capitalisation.

State support and operating trends underpin rating

As reported by Fitch Ratings, Vietinbank's long-term issuer default ratings remain aligned with Vietnam's sovereign rating of BB+/Stable because the agency expects the bank is likely to receive extraordinary state support if needed.

Fitch says this view reflects Vietinbank's majority state ownership, its systemic importance as one of Vietnam's largest lenders and the state's high propensity to support the banking system. The bank holds about 11% of system deposits and remains one of the country's four state-owned commercial banks, giving it preferential access to some large corporates, including state-owned enterprises, compared with mid-sized peers.

Asset quality stays broadly steady, with the non-performing loan ratio at 1.2% at end-1H26, versus 1.1% in 2025. Fitch revises the asset quality score to bb-/stable from b+/positive, citing expectations that performance remains similar over the next 12 to 18 months as the economy stays robust and the bank continues writing off legacy impaired loans.

Capital, funding and sector conditions remain in focus

Fitch expects Vietinbank's profitability to remain stable over the next 12 to 18 months, with a recovery in net interest margin and operating income offset by higher credit costs. The agency also says cost efficiency is likely to improve marginally as strong revenue growth supports the bank's structural profitability.

Capitalisation shows modest improvement, with the Fitch Core Capital ratio rising to 7.3% at end-2025 from 7.0% in 2024. Fitch expects further gradual improvement over the next two years, helped by a new government resolution that is likely to exempt state-owned banks such as Vietinbank from paying dividends.

The funding profile remains adequate, although liquidity conditions in Vietnam stay tight. Vietinbank's loan-to-deposit ratio rises to 106% by end-1H26 from 104% at end-2025, in line with a broader industry trend, while Fitch says recent central bank regulatory adjustments and higher government deposit balances should ease near-term pressure on funding and liquidity.

S&P Global Ratings’ new RXG methodology for bank ratings excluding implicit government support explained how Basel III-linked changes are pushing analysts to separate a bank’s standalone credit strength from assumptions of extraordinary state backing. Our earlier article noted that this framework is meant to help market participants evaluate issuer credit quality on its own, independent of government support that can influence traditional bank ratings.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.