SeABank (SSB) 9M2026 Profit Falls 41.7% as Group-5 Bad Debt Hits 80% of NPLs

Overview

SeABank (HOSE: SSB) reported 9M2026 pre-tax profit of VND3,940 billion, down 41.5% year-on-year, and after-tax profit of VND3,153 billion, down 41.7%, according to the bank’s Q3-2026 financial statements. The decline was driven largely by the absence of a VND2,615 billion one-off gain booked in the 2025 base period from the PTF sale, while total bad debt rose 20.7% to VND5,883.5 billion and the NPL ratio climbed to 2.27%.

Key Facts

• 9M2026 pre-tax profit: VND3,940 billion, down 41.5% year-on-year; after-tax profit VND3,153 billion, down 41.7% from VND5,405 billion.
• Q3-2026 standalone after-tax profit: VND1,051 billion, up nearly 35% year-on-year; Q3 pre-tax profit VND1,314 billion, up 37.4%.
• 9M2026 net interest income: VND7,131 billion, down 1.7%; investment securities trading swung to a VND597 billion loss from a VND165 billion gain a year earlier.
• Capital contribution and share purchase income fell to about VND7.5 billion in 9M2026 from VND2,615 billion in 9M2025, reflecting the completed PTF sale to AEON Financial Service on 3 February 2025.
• Total bad debt: VND5,883.5 billion, up 20.7% from VND4,873.9 billion at end-2025; group-5 loss-prone debt VND4,687.8 billion, about 79.7% of total NPLs.
• NPL ratio rose to 2.27% from 2.05% at the start of the year; group-3 substandard debt jumped 83% to VND597 billion.
• Total assets VND429,375 billion, up 8.3%; customer loans VND258,454 billion, up 9%; customer deposits VND196,599 billion, up 2.5%; loan-loss coverage near 71% versus 67% at end-2025.

What Happened

SeABank’s Q3-2026 results, disclosed in the bank’s quarterly financial statements, show a sharp divergence between the quarter and the nine-month period. Third-quarter pre-tax profit rose 37.4% year-on-year to VND1,314 billion, helped by a 22% reduction in credit provisioning to VND518 billion and a 31.7% increase in foreign-exchange income to VND237 billion. Core lending and deposit income in the quarter reached VND2,468 billion, up 5.6%, while service income slipped 9.8% to VND184 billion.

The nine-month picture is weaker because the 2025 comparative period included the VND2,615 billion gain from the transfer of Postal Finance Company (PTF) to AEON Financial Service, a transaction announced in October 2023 at VND4,300 billion and completed on 3 February 2025. With that item reduced to roughly VND7.5 billion in 9M2026, and with investment securities trading moving to a VND597 billion loss, nine-month pre-tax profit fell to VND3,940 billion. Credit provisioning for the nine months was VND1,356 billion, up 2.4%.

Market Context

SSB closed at VND15,000 on 3 November 2026 on HOSE. The stock sits in the Vietnamese banking sector, where investors have been focused on asset-quality divergence rather than headline profit growth, given that several banks have booked large one-off gains in prior periods that distort year-on-year comparisons. SeABank’s 2.27% NPL ratio and the concentration of bad debt in group 5 place it among the more closely scrutinised lenders on credit quality, even as loan growth of 9% year-to-date outpaces deposit growth of 2.5%.

Strategic Significance

The central question for long-term holders is whether the profit decline is a base-effect artefact or a deterioration in earnings power. The PTF gain explains most of the headline drop, but the 83% jump in group-3 substandard debt and the near-80% share of group-5 loans in total NPLs point to a book where recognised losses are already deep and recovery values, not reclassification, will determine future provisioning. Coverage at roughly 71% is an improvement, yet it remains thin relative to the size of the group-5 stock, leaving limited buffer if those loans migrate to write-off. The bank’s ability to grow net interest income, which fell 1.7% over nine months despite 9% loan growth, suggests margin compression is compounding the credit-cost problem.

What to Watch

• Q4-2026 and full-year 2026 results, including whether group-5 debt continues to rise or stabilises.
• Loan-loss coverage ratio trajectory from the current ~71% and any acceleration in write-offs.
• Resolution or sale progress on the VND4,687.8 billion group-5 portfolio, including collateral recovery disclosures.
• Net interest margin commentary and whether 9M net interest income decline reverses in Q4.
• Any State Bank of Vietnam regulatory action or sector-wide NPL classification guidance affecting provisioning.