Holistic approach to competitiveness in banking sector

Vietnam’s banking sector is entering a new phase of brand competition, where scale alone is no longer enough to secure a leadership position. According to the Vietnam Banking Brand 2025 report from Mibrand Vietnam, the strongest banking brands are increasingly those that can convert operational capability into customer experience while building long-term trust through sustainability and delivering relevance through technology. 

The report’s Brand Beat Score (BBS) ranking shows Vietcombank retaining the Number 1 position for a fourth consecutive year, with a score of 34.8. MB followed closely, with 34.2, while BIDV ranked third with 32.5. One of the most notable changes was Agribank’s return to the Top 10 with 20.4 points, highlighting how a legacy State-owned institution can regain momentum through sharper positioning and stronger relevance. 

From responsibility to competitiveness

More importantly, the report argues that the gap between leading banks is narrowing. Competitive advantage is no longer determined primarily by branch networks, balance sheet size, or historical presence. Rather, communication consistency, digital experience, personalization, and the ability to create emotional trust now play a much larger role in influencing customer preferences. 

This shift is visible across component rankings such as awareness, consideration, usage, brand fondness, willingness to pay more, and referrals. In other words, banking brands are no longer competing only to be known. They are competing to be chosen, used repeatedly, recommended to others, and valued enough for customers to pay a premium. Against that backdrop, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and AI stand out as the two themes most likely to define the next stage of brand leadership in Vietnam’s banking sector.

The report suggests that 2025 marked a turning point for ESG in Vietnam’s banking sector. In earlier years, sustainability initiatives were often associated with philanthropy, community programs, or compliance-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting. Today, ESG is being embedded more directly into products, risk management, lending decisions, funding strategies, and brand positioning. 

According to a PwC Vietnam report in 2025, ESG has evolved from a strategic choice into a business imperative, a shift also reflected in policy as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) targeted green credit accounting for 10 per cent of total outstanding loans by 2025.

This transition matters because customers increasingly interpret ESG as a signal of quality, responsibility, and long-term reliability. Rather than seeing sustainability as a side activity, consumers are beginning to connect it with whether a bank is modern, trustworthy, and aligned with future economic priorities.

The Vietnam Banking Brand 2025 report contrasts the “old model” of ESG with the “new model.” Previously, ESG activity was often detached from core business operations and viewed as a branding cost. In the new model, ESG is integrated into financial products such as green credit, sustainability-linked solutions, and carbon-related payment tools. It becomes part of the customer journey and a source of competitive differentiation. Performance is also expected to be measurable through brand metrics and transparent disclosure. 

The commercial opportunity is significant. Outstanding green loans reportedly expanded at an average annual rate of 21 per cent from 2017 to 2024; faster than overall credit growth. Meanwhile, the number of green credit institutions rose from 15 in 2017 to 58 in 2025. 

Just as important is the reputational dimension. According to the report, 80 per cent of customers prioritize “credibility” when selecting a bank, while 59 per cent prioritize “safety.” These attributes align strongly with the governance pillar of ESG, showing that sustainability is not only about climate finance or social inclusion but also about internal controls, transparency, fraud prevention, and disciplined management. 

The environmental pillar, meanwhile, helps banks appear progressive and responsible, particularly through renewable energy financing or green lending products. And the social pillar supports emotional connection through financial inclusion, community support, and fair access. Governance also reinforces trust and premium value perception. Together, these dimensions shape how customers feel about a bank, not just how they assess rates or fees. 

Among the most striking examples is Agribank. The bank’s ESG momentum does not come from adopting a fashionable narrative, but from aligning sustainability with its longstanding identity around agriculture, rural communities, and farmers. The report notes that Agribank recorded VND28.783 trillion ($1.11 billion) in outstanding green credit in the second quarter of 2025, alongside large-scale concessional lending packages for individuals and businesses. Agribank re-entered the Top 10 BBS rankings and improved sharply in awareness and consideration. It was also recognized by Viet Research as being among the Top 100 ESG Vietnam Green Enterprises and in the Top 10 ESG Banking Sector 2025.

From operations to brand power

While ESG helps banks earn trust over time, AI helps them express that trust in personalized and continuous ways. The report argues that AI is no longer just an efficiency tool used for back office automation or credit approval. It is becoming a central capability for customer experience management, communication relevance, and brand differentiation. 

This is especially important because customer behavior in financial services is becoming more dynamic and context-driven. Traditional segmentation models based on age, income, or static demographics are less effective when customer needs change rapidly depending on life stage, spending patterns, or real-time events. Banks that can interpret signals quickly and respond intelligently are more likely to be selected.

The report identifies a common trait among top-performing banks: they do not simply invest in technology. They convert technology into experiences that customers can feel - safer transactions, faster decisions, more useful offers, and more relevant communication. 

MB’s Number 2 overall ranking in the report is linked partly to its use of AI in security and risk prediction. The report highlights features such as app protection and transaction behavior analytics, which appear to strengthen customer perceptions around safety and service quality. MB also ranks strongly in referral and value-for-money metrics, suggesting that AI is not only improving internal processes but influencing real customer behavior - usage, advocacy, and satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Techcombank is presented as a leading case study in AI-driven brand management. The bank reportedly uses Adobe Experience Cloud combined with Personetics to analyze customer data in real time and deliver tailored financial prompts, rewards, and communication. 

The report identifies three major roles for AI in this model. First, it enables real-time brand health monitoring by continuously processing signals such as engagement, customer feedback, and channel performance. Second, it deepens customer insight beyond traditional segmentation, using behavior patterns, transaction habits, response timing, and unmet needs. Third, it allows personalized communication at scale - matching message, timing, and offer to the right audience more precisely.

Despite growing AI adoption, the report says no bank has clearly addressed two major customer needs: fraud-alert prevention and highly-effective virtual financial advisory. That creates a strategic opening. A bank that combines real AI capability with strong communication around financial safety or intelligent advisory could establish a distinctive brand position before its competitors do.

The report also suggests that Vietnam’s banking sector is shifting from competition in visibility to competition in trust and relevance. ESG builds long-term brand trust by proving responsibility, discipline, and alignment with sustainable growth, while AI builds brand intelligence by making services more personal, timely, and useful. 

For banks, the implication is significant. Future winners may not simply be the largest institutions or the loudest marketers. They are more likely to be those that can combine credible purpose with intelligent execution. In the next chapter of Vietnam’s banking sector, the strongest brands may be those that customers trust the most and those that understand them best.