The financial performance of Viet Nam’s banking sector declined sharply over the
first eight months of 2012. The return on equity (ROE) of the industry decreased from
12.5% in 2011 to 4.14%. The performance of the joint stock commercial banks (JSCBs)
seems to have suffered the most; the ROE of this group is lowest of three groups, at
only 2.89%. Total assets of this group also declined by 1.6% even though the owner’s
capital and registered capital increased. These banks also are least effective in utilising
mobilised capital; their loan-to-deposits rate (LDR) is only 73.66, which is far lower than
those of the SOCBs and joint venture and fully foreign-owned commercial banks (JVs
and FFOBs) (see Table 2.7.3). The build-up of bad debt has undermined the profitability of
the banking sector, especially for the JSCBs