HANOI: The upcoming season of annual shareholder meetings in the banking sector promises to be a pivotal period for Vietnam’s financial industry, characterised by significant executive personnel changes and multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
As banks prepare to restructure and position themselves for a new growth cycle, these developments are expected to take centre stage.
In the first two months of 2026, the market has already witnessed a flurry of governance restructuring among major banks.
The scheduling of AGMs is taking place amid urgency, with the primary focus on appointing and replacing board members and supervisory committee members.
Eximbank is set to undergo a comprehensive overhaul. Its AGM is scheduled for April 28 in Hanoi, where the board has reportedly received resignation letters from four board members and four members of the supervisory committee from the current term (2025-30).
Key figures resigning include Nguyen Canh Anh, Nguyen Ha Phuong, Pham Tuan Anh and Hoang The Hung, all citing personal reasons.
Following these resignations, the board is left with just one member, chair Pham Thi Huyen Trang, who was elected in December 2025 to replace Nguyen Canh Anh.
Eximbank aims to restructure its board to include seven members, planning to elect six new positions, marking a pivotal shift in its governance strategy.
Earlier, on Dec 4, 2025, the board accepted Nguyen Canh Anh’s resignation and elected Pham Thi Huyen Trang as chair, who also serves as the legal representative of the bank.
That same day, deputy general director Tran Anh Thang resigned for personal reasons.
Sacombank will also hold its AGM in Phu Tho Province on April 22, with plans to change its board of directors by proposing the election of four new members for the 2022-26 term.
The current board consists of seven members, including chairman Duong Cong Minh and vice-chairman Pham Van Phong.
A key bottleneck at Sacombank is the 32.5% stake held by a group linked to former vice-chairman Tram Be, which the Vietnam Asset Management Co (VAMC) currently represents.
Tram Be’s financial misconduct, which first emerged in 2017, has reportedly resulted in losses amounting to thousands of billions of dong.
This share has yet to be divested due to legal complications. The bank has submitted a proposal to the State Bank of Vietnam for a share auction to recover bad debts.
SSI Securities anticipates that Sacombank’s recovery plan may receive approval in the latter half of 2026, potentially allowing for the recovery of around 12 trillion dong.
MBBank (MBB) has scheduled its annual general meeting for April 18 and plans to elect an additional board member for the 2024-29 term. The cut-off date for participation rights in the meeting has been set for March 18.
Alongside these personnel changes, 2026 marks a significant period for M&A activity in the Vietnamese financial sector.
Pressures to increase capital in line with the Basel III standards, combined with shifts in the regulatory environment, are attracting foreign investors.
State-owned BIDV has set the stage by attracting 33 major investors, including State Capital Investment Corp, Dragon Capital and Manulife Vietnam, through a private placement that is expected to generate more than 10 trillion dong.
However, the most anticipated deal is Vietcombank’s plan to sell 6.5% of its shares, potentially raising between US$1.3bil and US$1.4bil.
This move is crucial to solidifying its leading position and strengthening its financial capacity after years of planning.
In late January 2025, Vietcombank invited consulting entities to participate in a valuation for this private placement, a significant step following a six-year hiatus.
Previously, its 2025 AGM approved a plan to sell up to 6.5% of its shares to a maximum of 55 investors between 2025 and 2026.
In the private banking sector, the most anticipated transaction revolves around the sale of 32.5% of Sacombank’s shares, referring to the shares previously pledged by Tram Be’s group to VAMC to address liquidity pressures following the 2015 merger.
The arrival of Nguyen Duc Thuy at Sacombank alongside potential new board members has heightened market expectations that new shareholder groups could emerge soon.
Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank is expected to welcome new foreign stakeholders following the exit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, while SHB Bank is actively seeking strategic partners.
Currently, more than 10 banks have foreign ownership ratios below 5%, suggesting significant room for new deals as the need for capital becomes increasingly apparent.
Notably, the government has permitted an increase in the foreign ownership limit to 49% for institutions involved in restructuring weak banks.
Three notable publicly listed banks, HDBank, MBB and VPBank, lead the sector in operational efficiency and financial strength.
HDBank reported profit before tax of more than 21.3 trillion dong in 2025, up more than 27% from 2024. It also posted a capital adequacy ratio of 16.7% and a return on equity of 25.3%, both among the highest in the industry.
HDBank’s share price has surged more than 50% over the past year, with MBB and VPBank also recording positive profit growth.
These banks are reinforcing their capital bases in preparation for a new growth phase, with expectations of higher credit growth limits, stronger retail banking, increased non-interest income, improved net interest margins and cost control.
The expanded foreign ownership limit will give banks more space to attract international capital, support credit growth, strengthen retail operations and improve non-interest income.
The M&A wave in 2026 reflects a deeper restructuring process within the banking system, with equity transactions emerging as a strategic tool for Vietnamese banks to reposition themselves. — Viet Nam News/ANN
