Why Do 3 State Banks Still Dominate Profits? The Answer Is Here

This morning I’m sitting in a Saigon café with black coffee in hand, reading the news about Vietcombank, VietinBank, and BIDV. Why do 3 state banks still dominate profits after a decade? After finishing the article, I’m reminded of a scene from 2016 — standing in a The Gioi Di Dong showroom, flyers in hand, watching customers walk in. That’s when I understood: scale isn’t power. The way you listen to customers is. But today’s article tells a different story, and I need to be honest with you about it.

📌 What’s Happening

Why do 3 state banks still dominate profits? Because their low cost of capital — meaning the cheap deposits they collect from being state-owned — lets them out-earn private banks even without superior performance.

• Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV consistently rank among the highest profit banks in the system for the past decade
• Their advantage: assets worth millions of billions dong, low cost of capital (easy access to deposits), connection to the largest clients and projects in the economy
• Private banks are growing fast but still can’t catch up to these three in absolute profit
• The gap in scale and resources maintains a “significant distance” between them and competitors

Source: cafef.vn

What I See

Scale explains why 3 state banks still dominate profits today, but scale alone doesn’t guarantee they stay ahead tomorrow — large systems move slowly and adapt poorly.

Angle 1: Scale is foundation, but foundation doesn’t create future

I worked in digital marketing at Big E Co (2016-2024). The company didn’t have assets worth millions of billions. No low cost of capital from “community trust.” But in 2020-2022, when we built the Tech Review Team, we hit 1 billion VND in revenue in the first 3 months.

Why? Because I knew how to read customers from my days handing out flyers at showrooms. I knew which content hit real needs. These state banks have scale advantage, true. But that advantage is becoming a burden — too large to move fast, too many processes to adapt.

Angle 2: The question no one dares ask — is their profit because they perform well, or because the system allows it?

Vietcombank has low cost of capital. Is it because they built trust brilliantly? Or simply because people deposit money in state banks because… they’re state banks?

That’s a different question. I’m not saying this to criticize. I’m saying it because it matters: if your profit depends on the system rather than how you work, then when the system changes, you lose everything.

Angle 3: What does this tell women building financial independence?

I founded Saigon LadyBoss in 2026 because I saw women around me facing the same problem — dependent on one entity (company, husband, advisory firm), and when that entity shifts, everything collapses. These three banks are a perfect example.

They’re large, they make huge profits, but they’re not truly independent. They depend on state power, on pre-existing trust. Real financial independence means: you create value, you know your customers, you have skills no one can take away.

🔍 The Number Worth Paying Attention To

The real reason 3 state banks still dominate profits isn’t revenue size — it’s cost of capital. A bank with 2% capital cost only needs 3-4% return to profit, while a private lender with 5-6% capital cost needs 8-10%.

Everyone looks at “highest profit.” I look at a different number: low cost of capital. That’s the key. That’s the “significant distance” the article mentions. But it doesn’t reflect ability — it reflects position in the system.

I Once…

My own experience shows scale advantage only lasts as long as you keep improving; the moment you rely purely on position, faster movers catch up.

…stood on the edge of the system. In 2016, I was a promoter girl in a showroom. I made wages, sales commissions — barely anything. I observed, I learned. By 2018, I became Senior Digital Marketing at Big E Co.

That’s when I understood: whoever has the lowest cost structure, wherever growth happens in the industry, wherever scale is largest — that entity captures profit. But I also saw: that advantage only lasts if you never stop improving.

In 2020-2022, leading the Tech Review Team, I didn’t have scale advantage. But I had something else: I knew how to make customers feel heard. We hit 1 billion VND in three months. Not because I’m a genius. Because I asked the right questions: What do customers need? What do they fear? Who do they trust?

Want to learn how to build income independent of systems, not dependent on scale advantage? Schedule a free consultation with me: hoalva.bigeco.vn/tu-van-dau-tu

So, before you ask again why 3 state banks still dominate profits, ask yourself: does your current income depend on a single system?