HCMC – Agribank’s leadership has said the State-run bank has seen bad debt falling to a record low after more than a decade of debt restructuring, marking a major turning point in cleaning up the balance sheet of one of Vietnam’s “Big Four” banks.
Speaking to the media on January 9, Pham Toan Vuong, chief executive officer of Agribank, said the bank completed a “dual mission” in 2025: keeping interest rates low to support economic growth while bringing the system-wide non-performing loan (NPL) ratio down to below 1.2%. “Since the restructuring process began in 2013, the NPL ratio has never reached such an encouraging level,” Vuong said.
Agribank has just completed the third phase of its five-year restructuring roadmap for 2021–2025, which is closely linked to the settlement of bad debt. The ratio of on-balance-sheet NPLs fell to 1.14%, while the NPL ratio under the restructuring plan stood at around 1.2%, the lowest level since Agribank began restructuring. Phase one ran from 2013 to 2015, followed by the second phase from 2016 to 2020.
In Hanoi, amid a rapid rise in bad debt during 2022–2024, Agribank established a steering committee at its headquarters to deal with problem loans, along with task forces for branches with high levels of potential bad debt, NPLs and off-balance-sheet exposures. These efforts aimed at a thorough restructuring of underperforming branches with elevated bad debt ratios and heightened risk profiles.
As of December 31, 2025, the NPL ratio in the Hanoi area had declined to 1.12%, with no branch reporting an NPL ratio above 3%. Recoveries from resolved risk-related debts across the region totaled VND5.61 trillion, surging from 2024 levels and from the early stage of restructuring in 2021.
Similarly, in HCMC, Agribank’s leadership said the head office had allocated maximum resources to branches with large on- and off-balance-sheet bad debt. The plan is to bring the region’s NPL ratio below 3% as early as the first quarter of this year.
This year, Agribank will continue to intensify the settlement of bad debt. However, debt recovery is expected to remain tough despite new provisions under the amended Law on Credit Institutions.
“We have resolved many bad debts and will continue to devote time and resources to debt recovery. This will be a major focus this year. Only then can we strengthen our financial health,” Vuong said.
Another priority for Agribank is further streamlining its system, accelerating technology adoption and digital transformation to boost productivity, Vuong added.
