With the national target of net-zero emissions by 2050, credit institutions are restructuring credit portfolios, optimising operations, and deploying emission-reduction measures, thereby establishing a green finance ecosystem in association with the Government’s green growth orientation.

According to the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), by the end of Quarter (Q)3 of 2025, outstanding green credit reached nearly 742.8 trillion VND, an increase of 9.3% compared with the end of 2024, and 5.5% compared with Q2 2025. The proportion of green credit in total outstanding loans of the economy remained around 4.3–4.4%. Although this proportion is modest compared with the credit scale of the whole sector, the growth rate indicates increasing demand for capital for renewable energy projects, circular agriculture, and clean production. Along with the shift in capital flows, credit institutions are paying greater attention to monitoring the environmental and social impacts of lending activities. By the end of Q3 2025, loans assessed with ESG risks reached 3.84 quadrillion VND, equivalent to about 1.38 million loan accounts, up 6% compared with the end of 2024.

Deputy Governor of the SBV Pham Thanh Ha said that this transition “reflects the increasing awareness of credit institutions of environmental and social risks and the requirements for sustainable development”. However, it requires stronger mechanisms to create momentum for expanding capital flows. So far, the SBV has completed the policy framework for green banking development with Decision No. 1663/QD-NHNN in 2024, which focuses on environmental and social risk management and the promotion of international-standard emissions measurement application. This is an important foundation for commercial banks to build green credit assessment systems and expand eligible project portfolios. Many banks have pioneered issuing green bonds and building low-emission credit portfolios. BIDV successfully issued over 104 million USD in international-standard green bonds; Vietcombank issued 2 trillion VND in green bonds at the end of 2024, and MB aims to become a carbon-neutral bank by 2030. These initiatives help unlock resources and add long-term capital for renewable energy and low-emission infrastructure projects.

Among the banks actively promoting operational “greening”, SeABank stands out as a typical example. It simultaneously implements emission management, energy optimisation, digital transformation while promoting green habits internally. Accordingly, SeABank has defined three scopes of carbon emissions for monitoring, measuring, and controlling/minimizing, in which direct and indirect emission sources from energy consumption are addressed through the application of green works, smart building management systems, and resource-saving processes.

Apart from operational optimisation, digital transformation has become an important driving force supporting emission reduction. “Thanks to comprehensive digital transformation, paper usage at headquarters decreased by 1.45% in 2024, energy consumption and gas emissions remained stable while scale and staffing continuously expanded”, a SeABank representative said.

Operational “greening” is creating an important foundation for the banking system to strongly shift towards green finance provision in the 2025–2030 period. Besides early successes, experts said that there are still major challenges such as: lack of a unified framework for green project classification, high environmental and social risks making banks cautious, and green project appraisal costs remaining higher than expected.

Additionally, the lack of synchronisation among institutions, standards, and capacity is one of the barriers that make it difficult for Vietnamese banks to access international green capital. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, to remove these barriers, it requires simultaneous improvements to national green mechanisms and standards, standardising reports according to IFRS and ESG; and improving capacity for green credit supervision.

On the other hand, banks must also change their approach: green credit should not merely mean providing loans with minimal environmental harm, but it must become a core strategy in the business model associated with the national net-zero target. Each bank should consider its credit portfolio as a carbon map, where each loan carries a measurable emissions footprint. A renewable energy project, clean transport, or smart urban project not only generates financial profits, but also creates quantifiable environmental value that can be measured and reported under ESG standards.

With the gradual completion of the legal framework and commitments from credit institutions, green capital flows are expected to expand, supporting priority sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and the circular economy. Therefore, the banking sector’s greening process is not just a technical or operational change, but a long-term transformation towards a sustainable financial model, contributing to realising Viet Nam’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and to building an economy that harmonises growth and environmental protection.