Customers transaction at a branch of VPBank (Photo: vpbank.com.vn)However, despite being the country’s largest banks by far, theirbrand value in monetary terms is very low.
For instance, for Vietcombank, it made up only 4 percent of itstotal assets of around 576.53 trillion VND (25.3 billion USD) by October 2016.
It is slightly higher for Vietinbank and BIDV at 10 percent and 11percent, respectively.
The comparable figures are 25 percent globally and 16-18 percentin Southeast Asia.
Why are Vietnamese banks unable to add value to their brands?
The first and obvious reason is that they, including the majorones, have not paid much attention to investment in building their brands.
They have only managed to grow in the last few years of theirfamiliarity with the marketplace and relationships.
Another reason is that Vietnamese banks still prioritise customersaged 40 and more thinking they have a stable income and accumulated savings.
But it is young people who are familiar with and avid users ofdigital technologies, virtually a pre-condition for promoting brands.
Experts urge Vietnamese banks to invest in building brands,especially if they want to expand abroad.
Obviously, it will not be clever of the lenders to venture intoother markets if they are completely unknown there.-VNA
VNA
