MB plans to trade gold and establish a digital asset floor

The information was shared by the head of the bank at the investor meeting conference on February 2. Regarding the gold business, MB leaders said that the bank is ready in terms of technological infrastructure and operating procedures, currently waiting for the management agency to license and allocate limits for official implementation. MB’s strategy is not aimed at the large-scale gold bar accumulation segment, but focuses on mass customers with a small account accumulation model.

“MB’s goal is to help people with low incomes, with only 50,000 VND, still be able to accumulate gold for future goals such as weddings, savings, and avoid pressure to buy gold when prices increase,” Mr. Thai shared.

Currently, the accumulated gold trading features have been completed by MB on the digital banking application and are expected to be piloted internally for employees before expanding to the market.

Besides gold, MB also plans to participate in the digital assets market. However, bank leaders recognize that this is a field with a high level of risk, complex technical requirements and very strict technological safety standards.

“We set technology safety requirements at the highest possible level. Although we cannot guarantee 100%, we must approach the maximum safety level. This is a very difficult problem, but it is also the reason why MB chose to pursue it, because if it were easy, there would be no competitive advantage,” Mr. Thai emphasized.

To solve the infrastructure problem, MB signed a cooperation agreement with Dunamu Group, the operator of Korea’s largest digital asset exchange. According to bank leaders, this cooperation aims to meet the requirements of high-speed transaction processing, a factor that far exceeds the operating standards of traditional banks.

Mr. Luu Trung Thai also affirmed that MB will not directly invest or trade in digital currencies to avoid the risk of price fluctuations. Instead, the bank positions itself as a provider of “transaction banking” infrastructure and services for digital asset exchanges, ensuring transparent, safe cash flow and compliance with legal regulations.

During the event, the bank’s board of directors also announced business results and development orientation for 2026 to investors. The bank’s total assets in 2025 will reach about 1.6 million billion VND, an increase of approximately 43% compared to 2024. This is the first year that both MB’s credit and capital mobilization simultaneously exceeded the 1 million billion VND mark. Specifically, consolidated credit increased by 37% (the parent bank alone increased by 35%), while capital mobilization increased by 32%.

Profitability indicators continue to remain in the high group of the system, with ROE reaching 21.15%, ROA above 2% and NIM at 4.03%. Demand deposits (CASA) increased by 24%, reaching VND 348,000 billion, among the highest in the market. Total operating income in 2025 will reach about VND 67,700 billion, of which non-interest income accounts for 24%.

2025 also marks the first time revenue from digital channels accounts for more than half of MB’s total revenue, reaching VND 25,600 billion, a sharp increase compared to 35.6% in 2024. Disbursement revenue via digital channels reaches VND 822,000 billion, double the previous year and 9 times higher than in 2023.

The consolidated bad debt ratio decreased to 1.29%, with the parent bank alone being 1.13%. The bad debt coverage ratio reached 100% at the parent bank and 94% throughout the group. Capital adequacy ratio (CAR) maintained above 11%. MB’s pre-tax profit in 2025 will reach 34,268 billion VND, an increase of 19% compared to the previous year, bringing the bank into the “club” of businesses with profits of over 30,000 billion VND in Vietnam.

By the end of 2025, MB will have 4.8 million new customers, bringing the total customer size to 35 million, equivalent to 1/3 of Vietnam’s population. The transaction rate on digital channels reached 99%, showing that user habits have completely shifted to cyberspace.