Margin debt exceeds 380,000 billion VND, a series of securities companies are gradually running out of 'room'

VN-Index has increased by more than 30% since the beginning of the year, leading to a wave of margin lending explosion. Margin debt in the third quarter soared to a record high, causing many securities companies to almost reach their lending limit.

Margin loan balance at a series of companies increased compared to the beginning of the year - PHOTO: QUANG DINH

Margin debt of many companies increased to a record level

The Vietnamese stock market continued to maintain its strong growth momentum since the beginning of the year, amid rising expectations for an upgrade. The VN-Index opened on October 24 at 1,677 points, up 32% from the beginning of the year.

At one point, the index reached 1,766 points, equivalent to an increase of nearly 40%, the highest in the past three years.

Along with the market's growth, investors' demand for margin loans has also skyrocketed. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the total outstanding loans at securities companies, including margin loans and sales advances, are estimated to reach VND383,000 billion, equivalent to nearly USD14.5 billion.

Compared to the end of the second quarter, the lending scale increased by more than VND80,000 billion, of which margin debt alone accounted for the majority, about VND370,000 billion, an increase of VND78,000 billion in just three months - the strongest increase since the boom period of 2021-2022.

According to data compiled from third-quarter financial reports, the 10 securities companies with the highest margin lending balance currently account for more than 70% of the total outstanding balance in the entire market.

Total loan value reached about VND 219,932 billion, an increase of 49% compared to the end of 2024. Leading is TCBS with about VND 40,874 billion, followed by SSI with VND 38,781 billion, VPBankS with VND 26,663 billion, VPS with VND 22,036 billion and HSC with VND 20,215 billion.

	Outstanding margin loans as of the end of the third quarter	Margin loan balance as of end of 2024
TCBS	40874	25606.5
SSI	38780.6	21815.3
VPBank	26663	9447
VPS	22036	12208
HSC	20215	20428
Mirae Asset	17388	18255.3
MBS	14511.5	10119.7
VnDirect	14478	10148
Vietcap	13556	11105
KIS	11430	8458

Compared to the maximum margin lending limit of twice the equity, some companies have used up almost all of their "room".

HSC has now reached 95% of the margin ceiling, equivalent to VND20,215 billion above the VND21,249 billion limit, almost stretching out all lending room.

VPS and VPBankS also reached about 79% and 66% respectively, showing that investors' demand for financial leverage increased sharply in the last quarter.

Notably, MBS is a rare case where the margin lending ratio exceeds the ceiling, when the margin balance in the third quarter reached 14,511 billion VND, while the lending ceiling was only nearly 14,000 billion VND, exceeding about 513 billion VND.

Besides, Mirae Asset and KIS are also in a "tight rope" situation, with the ceiling utilization rate of 90.8% and 93.3% respectively. This group, along with HSC, is in a very narrow limit, close to the margin ceiling.

On the contrary, large companies such as SSI, TCBS, Vietcap and VNDIRECT still have quite a lot of room, when the ceiling usage rate only fluctuates from 35% to 64%.

However, the third quarter margin growth rate at many companies was high. VPBankS increased by more than 82%, VPS increased by 80%, while SSI and TCBS also increased by nearly 60% compared to the end of 2024.

Race to increase capital to expand margin room

To seize growth opportunities in the context of the market being upgraded to emerging market status by FTSE Russell, financial capacity will be the key factor to help securities companies catch up with the new wave of development. Therefore, a "race" to increase capital is taking place strongly and quickly across the industry.

In early September, SSI announced plans to issue 415.5 million shares to existing shareholders, increasing its charter capital from VND20,779 billion to nearly VND25,000 billion, continuing to maintain its leading position in the industry. With a selling price of VND15,000 per share, the company expects to collect about VND6,200 billion, which will be used to supplement capital for margin lending, bond investment and certificates of deposit.

Previously, TCBS completed the IPO selling 231.1 million shares, priced at VND46,800 per unit, raising its charter capital to VND23,133 billion. The deal helped the company earn about VND10,817 billion, of which 70% of the capital will be used for proprietary trading activities (stock and bond investment) and 30% will be allocated for margin lending.

Similarly, VPBankS is also preparing to offer 375 million shares, equivalent to 25% of charter capital, at a minimum price of VND12,130 per share. After the issuance, the company's capital is expected to increase from VND15,000 billion to VND18,750 billion.

Not only big names, many other companies such as VPS, HSC, Kafi, TPS, MBS or TVS are also planning to issue hundreds of millions of additional shares to increase capital scale and strengthen financial capacity before the market enters a new growth cycle.

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Le Nhat Quang

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/du-no-margin-vuot-380-000-ti-dong-loat-cong-ty-chung-khoan-dan-can-room-20251024112344674.htm