HCM CITY — Fitch Ratings has assigned its first ever credit ratings for Hồ Chí Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HoSE: HDB), placing the lender among the highest-rated Vietnamese banks, recognising its strong financial fundamentals, robust performance, and sustainable growth.

It assigned HDBank long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings of 'BB-', with a stable outlook and a viability rating of 'bb-', the highest it awards Vietnamese banks.

Fitch's BB- rating is one notch higher than the B1 rating earlier assigned to HDBank by Moody's, reflecting the bank's steady progress in strengthening its financial position and credit quality.

According to Fitch, the ratings reflect HDBank's strong profitability, stable funding base, and increasingly solid position in Việt Nam's banking sector.

It also expects Việt Nam's positive economic outlook to continue supporting the banking industry's performance in the years ahead.

It highlighted HDBank's sustained growth in total assets and lending in recent years, alongside its expanding presence in the retail banking and small and medium-sized enterprise segments.

It expects the bank to continue delivering strong profitability relative to its peers, supported by healthy net interest margins and high operating efficiency.

Fitch also expects HDBank's capital position, already among the strongest in Việt Nam's banking sector, to be further enhanced through shareholder-approved capital increase plans.

The additional capital is expected to strengthen the bank's financial buffers against potential risks while providing a solid foundation for medium- and long-term growth.

Receiving a high maiden rating with a stable outlook not only recognises HDBank's solid financial foundation and governance standards aligned with international best practices, but also enhances its access to international capital markets, helping diversify funding sources and reduce funding costs.

Earlier, in April 2026, Moody's upgraded HDBank's credit rating outlook from stable to positive, citing improvements in its financial strength, asset quality, and growth prospects.

In the first quarter of 2026, HDBank reported pre-tax profits of VNĐ6.107 trillion (US$233 million), up 14 per cent year-on-year.

Its return on equity (ROE) remained among the highest in the banking sector at 24.29 per cent, while its Basel II capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.2 per cent, more than double the regulatory minimum of 8 per cent.

As of March 31, 2026, the bank’s total assets topped VNĐ984.216 trillion, up 5.7 per cent from the end of 2025. Outstanding loans totalled VNĐ635.085 trillion, an increase of 8 per cent, while total mobilised capital exceeded VNĐ880 trillion, up 5.9 per cent, of which customer deposits were worth VNĐ725 trillion, an increase of 11.9 per cent.

The bank maintained a loan-to-deposit ratio of below 75 per cent, while key liquidity indicators, including the liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio, remained above 100 per cent, exceeding the requirements under Basel III. — VNS