Vietnam Consumer Finance Market: Recovery path and prospects

Hanoi, June 4, 2024 - Ms. Oanh Tran (Manager, Market Research & Consulting, FiinGroup) joined the Vietcap Webinar on the Vietnam Consumer Finance Sector: Recovery Path and Prospect theme. The event attracted nearly 100 guests, including experts and investors in the financial services sector.

The lively discussion, with numerous questions from attendees, demonstrated significant public interest in consumer finance. FiinGroup's representative shared valuable insights, garnering attention and high appreciation from participants. 

During the keynote presentation, Ms Oanh provided an in-depth analysis of the sector's performance, highlighting both the challenges and promising prospects ahead. 

Below are some highlights taken from the keynote presentation:    

Market performance 

Vietnam's consumer finance market faced its most challenging year in a decade, impacted by economic slowdowns and adverse credit conditions. Both banks and consumer finance companies (FinCos) have experienced sluggish credit growth due to a combination of subdued credit demand, declining borrower credit quality, rising delinquency rates, and stricter lending practices. Heavy provisioning has also weighed on profitability. Reported figures for 2023 show that FinCos' loan portfolios contracted by over 9% year-over-year. 

FinCos are set to address three main issues to adapt and thrive in 2024: regaining growth momentum, refining the loan portfolio, and revitalizing and building up reputation.  

Therefore, business strategies are expected to focus on: 

• Improving customer outreach & acquisition touchpoints 

• Product portfolio diversification 

• Credit risk management with focusing on enhancing customer base & analytics  

• Changing customer perception of the consumer finance market & FinCos 

Competitive landscape: From a concentrated to a dynamic and diversified market 

Vietnam’s consumer finance market is becoming increasingly fragmented amid post-COVID. Small and mid-sized FinCos with lean business models and high motivation for market share expansion now have an excellent opportunity to get ahead as some leading players have slowed down amid economic challenges, and some entered a period of restructuring and revising business strategies. 

Opportunities  

The challenges facing FinCos offer opportunities for strategic partnerships and investment. FinCos require additional funds to overcome challenges and expand their operations, especially those owned by local banks that plan to divest from consumer finance and focus on core services. These companies also seek resources for restructuring and digital transformation to stay competitive. Strategic partnerships are expected to help expand ecosystems, extend customer outreach and provide expertise, technology, and tailored financial packages that are crucial for this transformation. 

Future outlook  

The market is entering a new growth cycle, with several positive indicators suggesting a rebound: 

• The market will slowly recover, more apparently from the second half of 2024. In short term, the recovery path will be supported by positive signs of macroeconomic environments: The recovery of manufacturing and export sectors is expected to improve credit quality and credit demand of blue-collar workers, which are the main clientele of FinCos and from the digitalisation of customer journey to enhance customer experience and customer retention  

• To foster sustainable growth, various initiatives are needed, including regulatory transformations, particularly regarding debt collection practices and actions from both government bodies and financial institutions to enhance credit quality and promote borrower responsibility in borrowing and repayment. 

• After a series of M&A transactions, the market will continue to see the increasing participation of foreign-owned FinCos, along with the divestment trends of some local banks in their consumer finance arms 

• In the long run, the Vietnam consumer finance market has enormous growth potential thanks to its low penetration rate compared to peer countries in the Asia Pacific region and the changes in the perception of “new borrowers”, mainly from Gen Z, who consider consumer finance products as a payment option rather than a debt.  

Please access and download the presentation deck here.

About FiinGroup 

FiinGroup is Vietnam’s leading provider of financial data analytics platforms, business information, market research and consulting, credit ratings, and other data-driven analytics services via Platform as a Service (PaaS), annual package, and on-call services. 

FiinGroup has successfully supported the completion of numerous economic concentration notification dossiers, conducted many independent market research reports, conducted commercial due diligence in M&A transactions, provided M&A transaction advisory services, and assisted domestic and foreign investors in successfully penetrating and/or expanding business in Vietnam. 

For more information about FiinGroup’s merger filing support and other investor services and how we can help, please call +84 (24) 3562 6962 or email research.support@fiingroup.vn