Bank stocks are shining brightly.

The first half of 2025 saw many "leading" stocks surge on the stock market, and that upward trend is continuing, supported by several positive factors.

Which bank stocks saw the biggest gains in the first half of the year?

According to statistics from Investment Online Newspaper, out of 27 bank stocks currently trading on the stock market, 13 out of 27 stocks saw gains, outperforming the market in the first half of 2025.

The Vietnamese stock market closed the first six months of 2025 in a fairly positive state, with the VN-Index ending the month at 1,376.07 points, an increase of 8.63% compared to the end of 2024. Meanwhile, 13 bank stocks outperformed the VN-Index, all rising by more than 10%.

The strongest increase came from VAB shares of VietABank, which rose by 62% in the first half of the year. At the beginning of 2024, the bank's shares were trading below par value, but by mid-February 2025, they attracted attention with unexpected surges in trading volume. Before this period, only a few hundred thousand VAB shares were traded per session, but from mid-February onwards, each trading session attracted investors with liquidity increasing tenfold.

To date, VAB shares are trading around 15,000 VND per share. This strong price increase is supported by the news of its transfer from the current UPCoM exchange to the HoSE (Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange). The latest update from VietABank indicates that the bank will list nearly 540 VAB shares on HoSE this July.

Besides VAB, KienlongBank's KLB stock also saw a 53.64% increase since the beginning of the year. KLB and VAB are two stocks in the industry whose market value has increased by over 50% in the past six months. While VAB's increase was boosted by the news of its listing on a new exchange, KLB's surge came suddenly after two consecutive days of hitting the upper limit on May 26-27. Each session saw KLB increase by over 14%, causing its stock value to rise rapidly.

The sudden price surge comes as KienlongBank is scheduled to hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, where it will propose paying dividends in shares to existing shareholders at a rate of up to 60%, and increasing its charter capital from VND 3,652 billion to VND 5,822 billion. The bank also plans to list its shares on the stock exchange by the end of this year.

13 bank stocks that outperformed the market in the first half of 2025.

Among the top 5 fastest-growing bank stocks in the first half of the year wereSHB (44.94%), TCB (38%), and NVB (33.7%).

Most of the bank stocks that performed well in the first half of the year were supported by their own unique stories. For TCB (Techcombank), it was the IPO plan of TCBS, the leading securities company in terms of industry profits; for STB ( Sacombank ), it was the restructuring process nearing its end; and for SHB, it was the story of the aspiration to become a "national enterprise" amidst the growing confidence in the development of the private sector by its leading company…

Conversely, 6 stocks rose at a rate lower than the VN-Index, and 8 stocks declined. The sharpest declines, with double-digit drops, were seen in the shares of two banks, HDB (-14.5%) and TPB (-13.3%).

Bank stocks continued their upward trend. The banking sector surged strongly on July 7th, with several stocks hitting their upper limit, pushing prices to new highs, such as SHB (up 6.92% on HoSE) and NVB (up 10% on HNX). A series of other large-cap stocks also performed well, becoming the main support that pushed the VN-Index past the 1,400-point mark on July 7th.

Besides the two Vingroup stocks, VIC and VHM, the remaining 8 stocks in the top 10 with the strongest influence on the VN-Index during the trading session were all bank stocks. These include: CTG (+3.98%), BID (+1.78%), VPB (+2.93%), SHB (+6.92%), HDB (+3.33%), TCB (+1%), MBB (+1.54%), and LPB (+2.29%).

Bank stocks remain attractive.

Although, overall, only half of the banking sector stocks outperformed the market in the first half of the year, this sector had been highly anticipated by investors from very early on.

Persistent investment in banking stocks has helped the foreign fund PYN Elite Fund reap sweet rewards. In June 2025, this Finnish investment fund reported a 5.24% increase, while the VN-Index only increased by 3.3% in June. This performance was only slightly lower than the May 2025 performance over the past 12 months.

This positive performance was largely contributed by the increase in bank stocks, specifically STB (+14.7%) and OCB (+10.4%). Bank stocks continue to hold the main weight in PYN Elite's investment portfolio, with the inclusion of STB, MBB, CTG, VIB, and OCB.

The head of PYN Elite Fund maintains the view that, having gone through several difficult years in the banking sector, the need for loan loss provisions will significantly decrease this year, thereby boosting profits accordingly. At the same time, the National Assembly's official approval of the Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Credit Institutions will significantly improve the capacity to handle bad debts, enhance liquidity, and accelerate the recovery of collateral assets for banks in the future.

Banking is also a sector chosen by many analysts as having good growth potential in 2025. In particular, after the National Assembly approved the amendment to the Law on Credit Institutions in 2024, restoring the right of credit institutions to seize collateral to handle bad debts, which had previously been applied in Resolution 42, expectations for this sector are expected to continue to increase.

Resolution 42, now enacted into law, is expected to be a solution that helps the banking system accelerate the process of handling bad debts, increase operating income, and unblock business capital flows, thereby increasing the efficiency of capital utilization. SHS Securities Company assesses that the banks that will benefit the most are those with high levels of bad debt (BID, VPB, CTG, VCB, MBB) and those with a large retail banking segment (VIB, ACB, STB).

Data from SHS also shows that bank stock valuations remain attractive. The banking sector's P/B ratio, after declining following the market downturn caused by the tariff shock in early April, has returned to below the standard distribution zone. Currently, the banking sector's P/B ratio is 1.5x, 13% lower than the average P/B valuation for the period 2015-2025. Comparing the figures at the end of Q1 2025, except for LPB and STB which have P/B ratios higher than the average, most banks are trading at or below the average P/B ratio.

Along with supporting factors such as the unwavering GDP growth target of 8% or higher in 2025, and credit growth as the main driver of economic growth, SHS experts have a positive outlook for the banking sector in the second half of 2025. "Capital flows will be directed towards banks with promising investment stories, new communication strategies that enhance competitiveness, extraordinary income, or completed restructuring," SHS forecasts.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/co-phieu-ngan-hang-bung-sang-d325068.html