Vietnam seeks to develop structured bad debt trading market

Vietnam is working to transition its bad debt management from individual recovery efforts toward a structured debt trading market. This shift aims to improve transparency and unlock resources within the banking system.

As of late June 2026, the internal bad debt ratio of the credit institution system stood at 3.31%, a decrease from 3.44% at the end of 2025. During the first half of the year, the system processed approximately 141,400 billion VND in bad debt.

Experts, including BIDV Chief Economist Can Van Luc, suggest that developing a market based on market prices and expanding the secondary market is essential. The government's long-term financial market reform plan through 2045 emphasizes modernizing infrastructure and utilizing technology. The Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) is currently focusing on building a bad debt data system and developing a debt exchange to facilitate market-value debt purchases.