Foreign banks are promoting their in-depth development in the Vietnamese market, according to the central bank, the growth rate of equity capital and charter capital of foreign joint venture banks was always two to three times higher than that of both state-owned and private Vietnamese commercial banks.
As of October 2019, Vietnam houses nine foreign-owned banks, about 50 foreign bank branches, more than 50 representative offices of foreign credit institutions and many foreign-owned finance companies. Vietnam Insider has put them together to see who they are, which is your favorite bank:
ANZ
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It is the second largest bank by assets and third largest bank by market capitalization in Australia. ANZ was established on 1 October 1951, when the Bank of Australasia merged with the Union Bank of Australia Limited. It is one of the big four Australian banks, with the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac.
ANZ is one of the first foreign banks to open, and has been in Vietnam since 1993. In 2008, ANZ was granted a banking license by the State Bank of Vietnam to locally incorporate in Vietnam. ANZ Vietnam has presence in two major cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
CIMB
CIMB Group Holdings Berhad is a Malaysian universal bank headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group is an indigenous ASEAN investment bank. CIMB has a wide retail branch network with 1,080 branches across the region.
In Vietnam, CIMB Bank is headquartered in Hanoi, offering a wide range of banking products and services to individuals, businesses and corporations.
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company. HSBC traces its origin to a hong in Hong Kong, and its present form was established in London by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to act as a new group holding company in 1991.
The origins of the bank lie mainly in Hong Kong and to a lesser extent in Shanghai, where branches were first opened in 1865. The HSBC name is derived from the initials of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The company was first formally incorporated in 1866. HSBC has around 3,900 offices in 67 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America, and around 38 million customers.
HSBC
On 1 January 2009, HSBC became the first foreign bank to incorporate in Vietnam. The new entity, HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd. is 100 per cent owned by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd. is also the first wholly foreign-owned bank to operate both branches and transaction offices in Vietnam. HSBC is currently one of the largest foreign banks in Vietnam.
Hong Leong Bank
Hong Leong Bank Berhad is a regional financial services company based in Malaysia, with presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. The Bank is technology-focused and emphasises the development of financial capabilities to serve its clients across the five geographies. Hong Leong Bank Berhad (“HLB” or “the Bank”) is listed on Bursa Malaysia and forms part of the Hong Leong Group. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Bank has a strong Malaysian entrepreneurship heritage.
Hong Leong Bank office
Hong Leong Bank Vietnam (HLBVN) was one of the first Southeast Asian banks operated in Vietnam as a wholly-owned foreign commercial bank. Commencing its operations in Ho Chi Minh City in October 2009, Hong Leong Bank Vietnam has expanded its network to key cities of Vietnam. With recent connection to over 17,000 ATMs and 100,000 POS terminals nationwide, HLBVN has brought convenience to customers to an exciting new level.
Public Bank
Public Bank Vietnam Limited (PBVN) was transformed from VID Public Bank (VIDPB) – a joint venture between Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) of Vietnam and Public Bank Berhad (PBB) of Malaysia with equal stake established in May 1992. PBVN currently has a network of 12 branches in the key cities of Vietnam.
Shinhan Bank
Shinhan Bank is a bank headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Historically it was the first bank in Korea, established under the name Hanseong Bank in 1897. The bank was reestablished in 1982. It is part of the Shinhan Financial Group, along with Jeju Bank. Chohung Bank merged with Shinhan Bank on April 1, 2006.
Since the first representative office in Ho Chi Minh City opened in 1993, Shinhan Bank has been continuously expanding its network to provide financial services to local customers. Until now, the bank has expanded to 30 branches/transaction offices nationwide.
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London, England. It operates a network of more than 1,200 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) across more than 70 countries and employs around 87,000 people. It is a universal bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite its UK base, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam
As one of the oldest international banks in Vietnam, not only does Standard Chartered have in-depth local knowledge, it is also able to help its clients capture opportunities across its international network, making the bank a strong banking partner of Vietnam.
United Overseas Bank
United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) is a Singaporean multinational banking organisation headquartered in Singapore, with branches mostly found in most Southeast Asian countries. Founded in 1935 as United Chinese Bank (UCB) by Sarawak businessman Wee Kheng Chiang, the bank was set up together with a group of Chinese-born businessmen. The bank is the third largest bank in Southeast Asia by total assets.
The UOB branch in Ho Chi Minh City.PHOTO: UNITED OVERSEAS BANK
UOB was the first Singapore bank to establish a branch in Vietnam back in 1995, operating under a branch license before the incorporation of UOB Vietnam in August 2018 last year. Until now, the bank has expanded to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Woori Bank
Woori Bank is a bank headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and Woori Bank is a subsidiary of the parent company Woori Financial Group. The bank was founded back in 1899, originally called Daehan Cheon-il Bank, renamed Joseon Sangup Bank in 1911, then Commercial Bank of Korea in 1950s. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it merged with the former Hanil Bank and Peace Bank to become Hanvit Bank. Woori Bank adopted its current name in 2002.
Woori Bank Vietnam Limited has recently received approval from the central bank to add stock depository services to its license.
Existing foreign financial institutions in Vietnam are increasing capital, while new entrants are joining the market. The central bank has set the 2019 credit growth target at about 14 percent, down from the 17-percent target set for last year.