Vietnam transfers struggling banks' ownership to VPBank, HDBank

VPBank and HDBank now own GPBank and DongABank, respectively.

Vietnam has transferred ownership of two “poor-performing” credit institutions to two larger state-owned banks.

On 17 January 2025, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced the compulsory transfer of the Global Petro Sole Member Limited Commercial Bank (GPBank)to the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), a state-owned commercial bank.

Another state-owned commercial bank, the Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank), now owns Dong A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (DongABank).

Upon completion of the compulsory transfers, the GPBank and DongABank will be one-member limited liability commercial banks with 100% of their charter capital owned by VPBank and HDBank, respectively, the SBV said.

All legitimate rights of the depositors and the clients at GPBank and DongABank are expected to continue being guaranteed in accordance with the agreements and the applicable laws.

SBV said that the transfers also present an opportunity for VPBank and HDBank to expand their operations and launch new business models.

The compulsory transfers are part of Vietnam’s measures to “ensure macro-economic stability, national financial and monetary security, political stability, as well as social order and safety,” the SBV said in a statement posted on its website.

SBV said that it closely coordinated with the relevant ministries and agencies to direct the involved banks to develop plans for the compulsory transfers, and submit the plans to authorities for approval.