Four Vietnamese lenders, three state-owned and one private, are among the world’s top 500 most valuable brands this year. In an annual ranking by BrandFinance, VietinBank was ranked 242, BIDV, 307, Vietcombank, 325, and VPBank, 361. Last year, VietinBank, BIDV and Vietcombank, three major Vietnamese banks, made it to this elite list, and this year is the first time that a Vietnamese private bank, VPBank, has made it to the Brand Finance Banking 500.
In this year’s ranking, BIDV is one of top ten banks in the world in terms of brand strength, with growth of 22 percent; while VietinBank is one of top ten banks with biggest Brand Value Change 2018-2019 with a whopping 66 percent increase.
Chinese bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) continues to sit on the throne this year, followed by three others Chinese lenders in the top four.
According to the UK-based Brand Finance, a leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, Chinese banking brands have grown “at an outstanding rate despite fears of an economic slowdown and the rise of protectionism in international trade.”
It said Chinese banks grew 28 percent on average, achieving $407 billion in total brand value, over $100 billion more than American banks.
In August last year, Vietnam’s government approved a master plan for banking sector development until 2025 with a vision to 2030.
The plan envisages at least 2-3 banks in Asia’s top 100 in terms of total assets and targets to have 3-5 banks listed on foreign stock exchanges by 2025.