The increase is sought to be achieved by capitalizing part of the bank’s profits.

The wholly state-owned Agribank, one of the "big four" public lenders, currently has a charter capital of VND30.5 trillion ($1.3 billion), the lowest of the four. The other three are Vietcombank, Vietinbank and BIDV of which the state holds the majority stakes.

This means Agribank's capital adequacy ratio is just above the minimum rate of 9 percent required by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Vietcombank and BIDV last year increased their capital after years of waiting, but industry insiders said they need to increase it further.