Vietnam Bank Stock Valuations Diverge: High ROE Does Not Always Mean a High P/B Ratio

At the November 6, 2026 close, the price-to-book (P/B) ratios of 28 Vietnamese bank stocks listed or registered for trading ranged from 0.59 to 2.28, with a median of about 1.13; 10 traded below book value and five had P/B ratios above 1.5. The Pearson correlation coefficient between P/B and return on equity (ROE) over the past 12 months was just 0.04, indicating a very weak linear relationship between the two measures.

LPB had the highest P/B ratio, while 10 of the 28 bank stocks traded below book value.（VietVance）

Among six banks with ROE above 20%, LPBank had ROE of 25.96% and its shares traded at 2.28 times book value; KienlongBank had ROE of 22.04%, but its P/B ratio was only 0.79. In the first three quarters of 2026, LPBank's net fee and service income rose 136% and pre-tax profit grew 8.42%; KienlongBank's pre-provision profit fell 3.3%, but its pre-tax profit rose 11.48% as provisioning expenses declined.

Vietcombank's ROE was 17.34%, below VietinBank's 21.94%, yet their shares traded at 1.77 and 1.20 times book value, respectively. At the end of the third quarter of 2026, their nonperforming loan ratios were 0.71% and 1.20%, respectively, while their loan loss coverage ratios were 243.17% and 160.4%. VPBank's ROE was close to Vietcombank's, but its P/B ratio was 1.18; its nonperforming loan ratio of 3.12% and credit cost ratio over the past 12 months of 2.66% were both higher than Vietcombank's.

Some banks with low ROE also had high stock valuations. Sacombank's ROE was just 2.46%, yet its shares traded at 2.06 times book value; its nonperforming loan ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2026 was 7.33%, the highest among the 28 banks. NCB's ROE was 5.51% and its P/B ratio was 1.85. After the bank raised VND 10 trillion through a private share placement, its equity at the end of the period was about 85% higher than at the start of the year; how effectively it uses the new capital and the quality of its loans will affect its future ROE.

Some banks had ROE above 20% even as their shares traded below book value; STB traded at more than twice book value.（VietVance）

Eximbank and Saigonbank had ROE of 0.72% and negative 0.76%, respectively, yet their shares traded above book value. Excluding Sacombank, NCB, Eximbank and Saigonbank, the Pearson correlation coefficient between ROE and P/B for the remaining 24 bank stocks rose to about 0.49.

Source: VietVance