Domestic banking assets increase 12.35 percent in 2015

According to a report released by the State Bank of Vietnam, December 2015 saw the highest rise of total assets in the year of the banking system. The assets in December alone surged sharply by 298.29 trillion VND, accounting for more than 37 percent of the rise in the whole year.

Assets of State-owned banks increased 16.57 percent to 3,304 trillion VND. State-owned banks where the government holds majority stakes include Agribank, Vietcombank, VietinBank, and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), in addition to Vietnam Construction Bank, GPBank and OceanBank.

Assets of joint stock commercial banks also rose 8.93 percent to 2,928 trillion VND while those of joint ventures, 100 percent foreign-owned banks and foreign banks' branches increased 7.63 percent to 755.58 billion VND.

By the end of December, the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of the banking system also improved, inching up to 13 percent, much higher than the 9 percent rate allowed by the central bank.

However, the ratio of short-term funding to be used for medium- and long-term loans also increased to 31 percent from 28.93 percent a month earlier, but remained at the safe level, according to the report.

Under a survey of credit institutions released by the central bank last month, 81 percent of the institutions also said their performance in 2015 was an improvement over the previous year, with 34 percent of them saying the improvement was "significant."

According to the survey, thanks to last year's good results, a growing economy and the ability of businesses to take loans in 2016, many credit institutions are optimistic about their business this year. Of the surveyed institutions, 93 percent said their business performance this year would be better than 2015, while 32 percent of them expected "a much better result."

The demand for banking services, especially for borrowing, is expected to increase further this year after last year's growth.