In 2025: MSB’s Credit Growth Reaches 15.8%, CASA Improves Significantly

In 2025, Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) recorded notable achievements in both expanding its scale and improving the quality of its funding sources. Total assets increased by more than 27%, driven mainly by credit growth of 15.8%, while the current account savings account (CASA) ratio approached 29%, reflecting the bank’s effectiveness in strengthening a sustainable growth foundation amid a volatile financial market.

Total Assets and Credit Growth Remain Strong

As of December 31, 2025, MSB’s consolidated total assets reached nearly VND 408 trillion, representing a 27.3% increase compared to the beginning of the year. The primary driver of this expansion came from credit activities. With the 15.8% credit growth quota granted by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) for the banking segment, the parent bank’s outstanding customer loans exceeded VND 201 trillion.

In addition, thanks to digital investments and an effective customer expansion strategy, the loan portfolio of the bank’s subsidiary Tnex Finance reached nearly VND 4 trillion, bringing MSB’s consolidated customer lending balance to over VND 205 trillion as of December 31, 2025. MSB’s loan portfolio continues to be driven by strategic segments, with more than 75.5% coming from retail customers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On the funding side, customer deposits reached nearly VND 197 trillion, increasing 27.2% compared to the beginning of the year, enabling the bank to maintain a strong liquidity foundation to support business activities. The strong growth in deposits reflects the effectiveness of digital banking products, including accounts for individuals and businesses, attractive yield products and customer engagement programs designed to meet real customer needs.

In terms of safety indicators, the bank’s capital position remained solid. MSB’s consolidated capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 12.5%, among the highest in the market. The loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) was 62% as of December 31, 2025, well below the regulatory ceiling of 85%. Meanwhile, the ratio of short-term funding used for medium- and long-term lending was 26.74%, below the 30% limit set by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Credit quality continued to be well controlled, with the consolidated non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at 1.82% at the end of 2025. With continued efforts to strengthen capital safety and liquidity, ensuring the bank maintains resilience amid economic fluctuations, Moody’s upgraded MSB’s international credit ratings in 2025. The bank’s long-term deposit rating and long-term issuer rating were upgraded from B1 to Ba3, while the Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) was raised to b1.

The improved rating helps MSB reinforce its reputation with partners, access funding at more competitive costs and expand cooperation with global financial institutions. At the same time, the results strengthen the confidence of customers and investors, providing additional momentum for MSB to accelerate its growth strategy toward a safer and more efficient operating model aligned with international governance standards.

CASA Approaches 29%, Optimizing Operating Costs

A notable highlight in 2025 was the significant improvement in MSB’s CASA ratio. By the end of the year, CASA balances reached nearly VND 57 trillion, representing an increase of almost 40% compared to the beginning of the year. As a result, the CASA ratio rose from 26.4% to 28.9%, placing MSB among the banks with the highest CASA ratios in the system.

Maintaining a high CASA ratio provides MSB with a strong advantage in terms of cost of funds, thereby reducing pressure on the net interest margin (NIM) amid market challenges where deposit rates fluctuated while lending rates remained controlled to support business activities. In 2025, the bank’s consolidated NIM reached 3.22%.

According to MSB representatives, these positive results stem from the bank’s continued efforts to accelerate digital transformation. With strong data platform capabilities, key workflows—from approval and disbursement to operational processes—have been standardized, automated and integrated, improving control efficiency, shortening processing times and increasing operational transparency.

At the same time, the Magnet platform continued to demonstrate strong performance on digital channels, helping MSB attract new customers and enhance cross-selling effectiveness. By the end of 2025, MSB had nearly 8 million individual customers and more than 100,000 corporate customers.

Notably, the MSBPay project with the Merchant App MSB was one of the key drivers supporting CASA growth during the year. By offering financial management tools, QR payment solutions and e-invoicing services to household businesses, MSB has been able to integrate more deeply into the cash flow of this segment, thereby generating a stable source of current account deposits.

In terms of financial performance, net interest income (NII)—the bank’s core revenue stream—reached nearly VND 11 trillion, representing an increase of nearly 7% compared to 2024. Meanwhile, net fee and commission income recorded impressive growth of nearly 30%, contributing more than VND 1.7 trillion to the bank’s total operating income (compared to over VND 1.3 trillion in the previous year). This growth was mainly driven by expansion in payment services and digital banking solutions, helping diversify revenue sources and reduce reliance on traditional lending.

Operational efficiency also improved, with the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) declining to 36.14%, reflecting the bank’s ongoing efforts to control costs and optimize operations.

By the end of 2025, MSB recorded consolidated profit before tax of VND 7,058 billion, a slight increase compared to the previous year, after allocating nearly VND 2,000 billion for credit risk provisions. Profitability indicators remained solid, with ROA at 1.59% and ROE at 14.04%, demonstrating operational efficiency while the bank continues expanding its scale and investing in long-term capabilities.

Looking ahead to 2026, MSB remains committed to sustainable and green growth, driven by strategies centered on digital transformation, artificial intelligence and big data platforms. The bank aims to deliver convenient products and services that meet evolving customer needs while continuously enhancing the overall customer experience.

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