VIB was established on 18/9/1996 with a charter capital of 50 billion VND and 23 employees, operating mainly in Hanoi. The bank focused on serving small and medium-sized enterprises, operating cautiously in the context of Vietnam's nascent banking system. From 2006 to 2008, VIB expanded its branch network, increased its capital to 2,000 billion VND, and standardized governance, technology, and risk management to create a foundation for long-term development.

A turning point came in 2009 when VIB became a strategic partner of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), one of Australia's largest banks. CBA held a 15% stake in VIB, while supporting the transfer of technology, management processes, and personnel training. This partnership helped VIB shape a modern banking model, laying the groundwork for digital transformation and retail banking expansion in the subsequent phase.

Tuong Nguyen, VIB's deputy general director. Photo: NVCC

Tuong Nguyen, VIB's deputy general director. Photo: NVCC

After 29 years of operation, VIB has maintained a stable growth rate with an increasing scale. To date, the bank's charter capital has reached 34,040 billion VND, and total assets have exceeded half a trillion VND. The bank has over 10,000 employees across 202 branches and transaction offices in 25 key provinces and cities nationwide. VIB continues its digital transformation strategy, focusing on effective credit growth and expanding its customer base.

In the first 6 months of the year, VIB achieved a total operating income of over 9,700 billion VND, with pre-tax profit exceeding 5,000 billion VND, a 9% increase year-on-year. Net interest income was 7,700 billion VND, continuing to be the main contributor. Net interest margin remained at 3.4%. Non-interest income accounted for about 21% of total income, mainly from service fees and credit cards.

Almost 30 years tied to the vision of becoming a leading retail bank.

On September 18, the bank celebrated its 29th anniversary, marking nearly three decades of development. VIB is pursuing the development of intelligent financial solutions based on understanding customer needs to enhance the financial experience for Vietnamese customers.

Tuong Nguyen, VIB's deputy general director, said that in the context of the banking industry's rapid transformation, VIB has made its mark through innovation, technology application, and personalization in its products and services. The bank serves millions of individual customers, businesses, and financial institutions, with the support of over 10,000 employees. VIB has consistently been ranked among the top 50 most effective companies in Vietnam and the top 500 most valuable brands globally.

"Understanding our customers is the foundation for building a solid retail ecosystem. From there, VIB can set new standards for the financial experience while pursuing the goal of becoming a leading retail bank," Nguyen said.

Nguyen added that this year, the bank has applied technology to familiar financial products, providing a flexible experience and optimized benefits for users. Among them, the Super Interest Rate account allows idle cash to earn up to 4.3% per year, while customers can still spend at any time without losing accumulated interest. The iDepo solution offers interest rates up to 6.2% per year and still guarantees returns in case of early withdrawal.

After a few months of launch, the Super Interest Rate account has attracted over 500,000 users and has been recognized by three international organizations. At the same time, the MyVIB digital banking platform continues to play a central role, integrating next-generation AI. MyVIB was awarded "Most Disruptive AI Application in Digital Banking 2025" by the International Finance Awards. From 2017 to now, the number of MyVIB users has increased 30-fold. In the first half of this year alone, QR transactions increased by 86%, bill payments increased by 60%, and new customers via MyVIB increased by 84% year-on-year.

The bank is also one of the first to deploy Big Data, AI, and GenAI in customer services. The bank applies digital behavioral data in many processes such as eKYC, voice authentication, and credit approval, improving accuracy and shortening processing time. For example, with home loans, VIB can appraise properties within one minute thanks to a database of over 800,000 apartments in major cities, while shortening the loan approval process to 4-8 hours.

The bank sponsors the "Say Hi Brother" program. Photo: VIB

The bank sponsors the "Say Hi Brother" program. Photo: VIB

Three pillars in the card strategy.

In the card segment, VIB develops based on three pillars: customer understanding, technology application, and personalized experiences. These orientations create "needs-designed" products, allowing customers to personalize everything from the look to the spending function, contributing to enhancing the financial experience in a flexible and personalized way.

In August, the bank reached the milestone of one million credit cards, a 10-fold increase compared to 2018 (92,000 cards), joining the group of banks with large issuance scales in the market. Currently, the bank holds nearly 7% of the market share in terms of circulating and newly opened cards; it is among the top 3 banks with the highest total card spending, leading the Vietnamese market in Mastercard spending, with average spending per card 50% higher than the industry average.

Besides scale, the bank has also built a Visa, Mastercard, and American Express card ecosystem with flexible personalization capabilities. These efforts have earned the bank many international awards, such as: Best Credit Card Provider 2025 (Global Business Outlook), Innovation in Credit Cards (Global Brands Magazine), and Breakthrough in Personalizing Card Experiences with AI (Visa).

A VIB representative said the bank not only focuses on expanding the number of cards but also on creating a distinct financial experience. "This experience contributes to building long-term relationships with customers and creates a foundation for sustainable growth," the representative said.

In parallel, the bank has also implemented a communication strategy linked to cultural life to shape a youthful and approachable brand image. The bank has partnered with many programs such as The Masked Singer Vietnam, the "Say Hi Brother" concert series, and national events.

The bank has received many awards from MMA Smarties Vietnam thanks to its innovative communication approach and distinct brand strategy. Nguyen said that the bank hopes to create memorable experiences instead of just focusing on visual identity. In this process, VIB puts customers at the center and uses technology to realize the goal of personalized banking in Vietnam.

Hoang Dan