Danske Bank, the country’s largest lender by Tier 1 capital, saw return on equity drop to 2.7% in 2020.

At Ardshinbank, the country’s second largest bank by assets, net interest income rose 20% last year.

Low-risk lending to wealthy customers has helped maintain asset quality during the pandemic.

Leading banks significantly increased loan impairment provisions last year, ahead of a projected rise in bad loans this year. 

Access Bank, the country’s largest lender by total assets, saw ROE fall from 16% in 2019 to 14.1% in 2020.

KCB Group, the country’s largest lender by Tier 1 capital, saw its non-performing loan ratio rise to 15% in 2020.

The country’s two largest banks saw gross total loans increase by about 37% between 2016 and 2020.

Riding on wings of strong economic growth, 6750 financial services and fintech jobs were created in Vietnam in 2018. However, momentum slowed in the past two years and has not yet recovered.

The south-east Asian country was one of the fastest-growing economies in the world prior to Covid-19.

Banco de Crédito e Inversiones, the country’s largest lender, saw return on equity drop to 8.2% last year from 10.6% in 2019.