Agribank enhances its position and competitiveness on the world financial map

In the context of a rapidly evolving, complex and competitive global economy and finance, the requirement for Vietnamese commercial banks is not only to maintain domestic growth but also to expand their influence and consolidate their position in the international arena. As the key State-owned commercial bank serving agricultural and rural development, the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) is gradually transforming itself towards standardization, modernization and deep integration, aiming to enhance its competitiveness and international reputation in the new development stage.

Perfecting the governance platform, strengthening international credit ratings

One of the highlights of Agribank in 2025 is the promotion of perfecting the system of regulations, processes, and professional instructions, creating a synchronous and professional legal corridor in all foreign affairs, credit, and international financial management activities.

Important documents have been issued, creating a solid legal basis for managing RMA relations, Nostro accounts and payments of the Cambodia Branch; capital financing process under letters of credit along with many important directives on developing USD customers, rectifying international project activities and foreign affairs plans for the whole system.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Agribank works with the SWIFT senior leadership delegation

At the same time, Agribank has completed the draft Strategy for developing foreign affairs and international finance activities for the period 2026 - 2027, with a vision to 2030, demonstrating a methodical step in the long-term strategy to enhance competitiveness in regional and global markets.

Not only stopping at internal improvement, Agribank also implemented the Environmental Action Program in internal activities for the period 2025-2026 and the Plan to implement Resolution 59-NQ/TW of the Politburo . These steps contribute to orienting sustainable development, improving the quality of risk management, ESG management (Environment, Society and Governance), meeting international standards in modern banking operations.

Representatives of NongHyup Bank and Agribank took photos at the cooperation program

Regarding credit rating, an important criterion affirming financial strength and international reputation is that in 2025, Agribank continues to maintain positive results according to the assessment of the world's two leading prestigious organizations, Moody's and Fitch Ratings. Accordingly, Agribank is rated Ba2 by Moody's, with a Stable outlook, and BB+ by Fitch, with a Stable outlook, equal to the national ceiling of Vietnam and the group of key State-owned commercial banks including Vietcombank, VietinBank and BIDV .

To achieve this result, Agribank has established a close coordination mechanism with units in the whole system, completed legal documents, financial data, organized regular working sessions with Moody's and Fitch Ratings. In particular, the establishment of an international credit rating team for the period 2026 - 2028 shows the initiative in preparing, analyzing and improving credit index. This is an important foundation to help Agribank strengthen the confidence of investors, international partners and the global financial market.

Expanding cooperation and improving cross-border operational efficiency

In the first 9 months of 2025, Agribank's foreign affairs activities were bustling, with the reception of nearly 90 international delegations to work and exchange cooperation, including associations, international organizations, partner banks and diplomatic agencies. At the same time, Agribank also organized 17 working delegations to attend international conferences and seminars abroad. These activities not only expand cooperative relations but also help Agribank update technology trends, digital transformation, green finance and ESG governance in the global banking sector.

The Bank also signed five important international cooperation agreements, including the Green Finance Project with the French Development Agency (AFD), the issuing bank agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and memorandums of understanding with the Agricultural Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the SACE Group (Italy). These are important steps to expand the strategic cooperation network, helping Agribank enhance its capital mobilization capacity, expand its market, and participate more deeply in international financial chains.

Representatives of Agribank and SACE Group at the Vietnam - Italy Business Forum

Agribank Cambodia branch is a bright spot in the journey of expanding operations to the region. In 2025, the Head Office has closely coordinated with relevant units to deploy many solutions to support the Cambodia branch to improve business efficiency, through a mechanism of periodic meetings, monitoring operations, evaluating efficiency and proposing comprehensive restructuring plans. In the context of many fluctuations in the regional political situation, proactively developing a risk management plan and maintaining the operational efficiency of the Cambodia branch has affirmed Agribank's mettle, operational capacity and strategic vision in international integration.

Regarding international project management, by the end of September 2025, Agribank had accumulated 40 ODA projects re-borrowed from the Government, of which 13 projects were operating with a total limit equivalent to nearly VND 5,500 billion, demonstrating effective and transparent project management capacity.

The Bank is actively approaching and negotiating to implement 05 new projects with international organizations such as AFD, WB, LuxDev, ADB and Green Climate Fund (GCF), aiming at developing green finance, climate finance and sustainable agriculture. Of which, the project with AFD worth 50 million EUR and the GCF project worth 35 million USD are two key programs with the potential to expand the scale of socio-economic impact.

Agribank is also currently acting as a bank serving 25 projects with a total value of 1.22 billion USD, and has so far received 188 banking projects worth nearly 9.8 billion USD, demonstrating the bank's growing capacity and reputation in the field of international finance.

Developing products, strengthening global networks and committing to sustainable development

With the goal of improving international payment capacity and expanding global cooperation, by September 2025, Agribank had established RMA (Regional Financial Message Exchange Agreement) relationships with 640 banks in 76 countries and territories. The partner network is widely distributed across continents, with a strong concentration in Asia (57%), Europe (30%), followed by the Americas, Australia and Africa.

The Nostro and Vostro account systems at the world's leading prestigious banks are maintained stably, ensuring service quality and effective international payment capabilities. At the same time, Agribank classifies nearly 100 partner credit institutions, sets up customer policies according to groups with a total credit limit equivalent to VND 626 trillion, helping to improve initiative in cooperation and international liquidity management.

One of Agribank's key strategies is to develop products and services for credit institution customers and diversify capital sources mobilized from international financial institutions. The bank has researched and deployed modern trade finance products such as UPAS L/C, L/C discounting, and has been approved by the State Bank to borrow foreign capital in the form of UPAS L/C. By September 2025, Agribank had signed a financing agreement with the Military Bank (MB), successfully executed a Trade Loan transaction worth 6 million USD and cooperated with 29 international banks in the field of trade finance with a total limit of 1.04 billion USD. For medium and long-term capital, Agribank has approached 07 foreign banks ready to provide large-scale loans, serving green credit programs and sustainable development.

Agribank delegation attends the 58th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

In the global trend towards green finance and sustainable development, Agribank has early identified ESG as a strategic pillar. The Bank issued an Action Program towards the environment, built a Green Finance Framework and coordinated with international organizations to implement technical assistance projects to standardize the ESG management system according to international practices. The establishment of a team to select a consulting unit to prepare a Sustainable Development Report according to international standards and the completion of the ESG Steering Committee for the entire system demonstrate Agribank's strong commitment towards green banking - sustainable banking, contributing to enhancing the image, reputation and social responsibility of Vietnamese banks in the international arena.

Looking back at the journey to 2025, Agribank is gradually consolidating its internal strength, modernizing its governance model, expanding international cooperation and proactively integrating deeply. From financial management, ODA project development, correspondent banking relations, to ESG implementation, Agribank has demonstrated the strategic thinking, execution capacity and mettle of a large, responsible financial institution with a global vision.

In the journey towards the period 2026 - 2030, Agribank continues to aim to build a bank brand with international competitiveness, safety, transparency, and sustainable development, contributing to affirming the position of the Vietnamese banking system on the world financial map.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/agribank-nang-tam-vi-the-va-nang-luc-canh-tranh-tren-ban-do-tai-chinh-the-gioi-173265.html