Pursuant to Circular No. 14/2025/TT-NHNN:

Banks are rushing to increase their charter capital, both to have more financial potential and to meet the requirements of Circular No. 14/2025/TT-NHNN of the State Bank (issued on June 30, 2025) regulating the capital safety ratio for commercial banks and foreign bank branches. This Circular takes effect from September 15, 2025.

Many plans predate the circular.

According to experts from Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), Circular No. 14/2025/TT-NHNN, with the goal of approaching international standards (Basel III), emphasizes the importance of the quality and safety of the bank's capital structure, by setting out separate requirements for core capital tier 1 and tier 1 capital, instead of focusing only on total capital value.

Specifically, the minimum core capital tier 1 (CET1) ratio is 4.5% and the tier 1 capital ratio is 6%. In addition, the capital conservation buffer (CCB) ratio is set at 2.5% and the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) ranges from 0-2.5%, depending on macroeconomic conditions.

According to the roadmap, from the fourth year onwards, the minimum CET1 ratio will be 7% and the overall capital adequacy ratio (CAR), including buffers, will increase to at least 10.5% from 8.6% in the first year. In particular, CCyB is designed to give the State Bank flexibility in management, aiming to minimize risks related to excessive credit growth during economic expansion and enhance the resilience of the banking sector, by requiring stronger buffers when a recession is forecast.

Vietcombank has approved a capital increase plan. Photo: Quang Thai

For the group of state-owned commercial banks, the capital increase plan was proposed before Circular No. 14/2025/TT-NHNN was issued. In particular, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) approved the plan to issue individual shares to increase charter capital, with a maximum offering of 543.1 million shares to a maximum of 55 investors, including strategic investors and professional securities investors.

At the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade ( VietinBank ), the 2025 annual general meeting of shareholders approved a plan to increase charter capital by issuing shares to pay dividends for the period 2009-2016. The charter capital of this bank increased from 53,700 billion to 77,671 billion VND, an increase of 44.6%. VietinBank plans to issue a maximum of nearly 2.4 billion shares to existing shareholders, sourced from retained earnings in 2021, 2022 and the period 2009-2016.

Joint stock commercial bank group strives to increase capital

Not out of the picture, the group of joint stock commercial banks also has a very specific plan to increase capital. Accordingly, Kien Long Commercial Joint Stock Bank (KienlongBank) informed that September 25 is the date to close the list of shareholders to pay dividends in shares at a rate of up to 60%. This is the highest dividend payment level in the entire banking industry in 2025.

The capital for issuance is taken from the bank's undistributed profit after tax as of December 31, 2024, after setting aside funds according to regulations, helping the bank increase its charter capital from VND 3,652 billion to VND 5,822 billion.

A representative of KienlongBank said that the bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is always maintained at a level 3-4% higher than the minimum regulation of the State Bank.

Along with completing the dividend payment procedure at 60%, the bank has also submitted documents to register its shares for listing on the stock exchange. These are strong signals to strengthen shareholders' confidence, increase liquidity for shares and attract investors' attention.

An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank) has also just approved a plan to increase its charter capital from VND10,350 billion to VND13,973 billion through two forms: Issuing stock purchase rights to existing shareholders and issuing shares under a stock option program for officers and employees.

Or Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) has increased its charter capital to more than VND 45,942 billion through paying dividends in 2024 in shares at a rate of 13% of SHB, corresponding to issuing an additional 528.5 million shares, increasing the total number of listed shares of SHB from more than 4.06 billion units to 4.59 billion units.

A representative of a joint stock commercial bank in Hanoi commented that compared to other countries in the region and the world, Vietnamese banks have low financial indicators, so they set the goal of increasing financial capacity long before the State Bank issued regulations. However, Circular No. 14/2025/TT-NHNN also contributes to speeding up the progress and capital increase target of banks.

Experts also commented that the requirements in this circular on capital buffers, as well as the mechanism for applying internal rating methods, to calculate risky assets, increase buffers to help banks increase their risk tolerance and limit negative impacts on the entire system.

In fact, if banks' capital is strong enough, it will contribute to strengthening the banks' buffers, thereby helping to ensure the safety of the banking system in particular and the economy in general, increasing resilience to market risks.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/thuc-hien-thong-tu-so-14-2025-tt-nhnn-ngan-hang-rao-riet-trien-khai-ke-hoach-tang-von-718854.html