Vietcombank, MB, Techcombank Lead Nine Banks Seeking VIFC Subsidiaries

Overview

Nine Vietnamese commercial banks, including Vietcombank (VCB), MB, Techcombank, HDBank, MSB, TPBank, LPBank, SHB and Nam A Bank, have approved or are seeking shareholder approval to establish wholly-owned subsidiary banks at the Vietnam International Financial Centre (VIFC). Most plan charter capital of VND 3,000 billion, roughly USD 120 million, matching the statutory minimum. For VCB and its peers, the move is a route to offshore-style foreign-currency banking without leaving Vietnam.

Key Facts

• Nine banks are involved as of early November 2026: Vietcombank, MB, Techcombank, HDBank, MSB, TPBank, LPBank, SHB and Nam A Bank.
• MB’s board approved the plan on 29 October 2026 for a subsidiary named MB Toàn cầu, with charter capital of VND 3,000 billion or foreign-currency equivalent.
• Techcombank set a shareholder record date of 3 November 2026 for written approval of its VIFC subsidiary.
• Seven banks, including Vietcombank, TPBank, LPBank, HDBank, SHB and Nam A Bank, secured shareholder approval during the 2026 annual general meeting season.
• The legal framework is National Assembly Resolution 222/2025/QH15 and Decree 329/2025/NĐ-CP, effective 18 December 2025.
• Parent banks must hold paid-in capital of at least twice the legal minimum, keep NPLs at or below 3%, hold an SBV A or B rating, rank among large-scale banks, and report audited profits at both standalone and consolidated levels for five consecutive years.
• Subsidiaries may conduct up to 21 activity types with individuals and organisations outside Vietnam under Articles 57 to 62 of Decree 329.

What Happened

Under Resolution 222/2025/QH15 and Decree 329/2025/NĐ-CP, banks operating at the VIFC may take the form of a one-member limited liability commercial bank or a foreign bank branch. For a 100% domestically owned entity, the owner must be a Vietnamese commercial bank. MB’s board of directors approved its subsidiary on 29 October 2026, and Techcombank followed with a 3 November 2026 shareholder record date to collect written votes. MSB recently obtained shareholder approval in principle, while the seven banks that cleared the matter during the 2026 AGM season included Vietcombank, TPBank, LPBank, HDBank, SHB and Nam A Bank.

The operating model is the core attraction. A VIFC subsidiary keeps separate books, builds products to international standards and ring-fences risk from domestic operations. The decisive difference is the foreign-exchange mechanism: VIFC banks may open foreign-currency payment accounts for central counterparties and for non-resident organisations and individuals, with transactions between members settled directly in foreign currency. The banks frame the entity as a way to access lower-cost foreign-currency funding and to act as a financial intermediary for corporate clients, effectively going global within Vietnam.

Market Context

VCB trades on HOSE at VND 54,800 as of 4 November 2026, the highest price among the affected names and consistent with its large-cap, state-linked profile. MBB closed at VND 19,250, TCB at VND 21,850 and HDB at VND 22,200 on the same date. The VIFC initiative lands as Vietnamese banks compete for foreign-currency funding and fee income from cross-border trade and investment flows, a segment where regional financial centres in Singapore and Hong Kong have historically captured the bulk of intermediation.

Strategic Significance

The VIFC subsidiary is best read as a regulatory credential rather than a near-term earnings driver. The parent eligibility tests, requiring double the legal capital, sub-3% NPLs, an SBV A or B rating and five years of audited profit, mean the licence itself signals balance-sheet strength. For Vietcombank, already the sector’s largest foreign-exchange franchise, a VIFC entity extends existing correspondent and trade-finance relationships into a structure that can book non-resident deposits and foreign-currency settlement directly. The strategic risk is duplication: nine banks pursuing the same VND 3,000 billion template suggests a crowded, low-differentiation market unless each builds distinct client coverage.

What to Watch

• SBV licensing decisions and the first formal establishment approvals for VIFC subsidiaries.
• Techcombank’s written shareholder vote results following the 3 November 2026 record date.
• Disclosure of each subsidiary’s actual charter capital, whether VND 3,000 billion or a higher figure.
• Q4 2026 and FY2026 earnings commentary from VCB, MBB, TCB and HDB on VIFC funding costs and cross-border volumes.
• Guidance from the SBV on foreign-currency account rules and non-resident client onboarding at the VIFC.