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Once a symbol of financial strength, extensive branch networks have become a growing burden in the digital transformation era. With customers increasingly turning to online banking, streamlining operations, reducing physical outlets, and trimming staff have emerged as inevitable trends for banks in 2025.
On October 11, 2025, VCBNeo (formerly Construction Bank – CB) announced the closure of 12 transaction offices, including seven in Tay Ninh, two in Ho Chi Minh City, two in Can Tho, and one in Vinh Long. Earlier, on September 27, VCBNeo had shut down its Hai Chau branch in Da Nang.
Similarly, from October 1, 2025, BIDV officially ceased operations at five branches in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Vinh Long. VietinBank, too, has been rapidly reducing its network cutting 66 transaction offices in the first half of 2025, bringing its total down from 953 to 887. In the second quarter alone, VietinBank closed 56 locations across major provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Quang Ninh, Gia Lai, and Hue.
According to Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Pham Tien Dung, the country’s four major state-owned banks including BIDV, VietinBank, Vietcombank, and Agribank have collectively shuttered over 100 transaction offices. “Currently, 98 percent of customers at major banks conduct transactions through digital channels. In-person activity now accounts for a minimal share, so downsizing physical networks is an inevitable step to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency,” he explained.
This trend extends beyond the country’s four major state-owned banks. SCB has closed 14 more transaction offices after already shutting 95 in 2024. In late August 2025, LPBank terminated operations at 25 postal transaction offices across nine provinces and cities. Sacombank followed suit, closing five branches in Ho Chi Minh City by June 2025, after earlier consolidating several offices in Hanoi, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Can Tho, and Dong Thap.
Commercial banks focus on investing in core technology
Alongside the downsizing of branch networks, the restructuring process and rapid adoption of digital technologies have led to an unprecedented streamlining of personnel in the banking sector. According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), in the first half of 2025, the total workforce of parent commercial banks dropped by nearly 3,000 employees, to about 280,000 - the sharpest decline in years. This trend has been seen across both state-owned “Big Four” banks and private commercial banks, as organizational streamlining becomes increasingly widespread.
Financial statements from several commercial banks reveal significant staff reductions on over 1,000 employees in some cases at institutions such as LPBank, VIB, and Sacombank. The deputy general director of a major private bank in Ho Chi Minh City noted that while job cuts have not yet become a widespread wave, the rapid pace of technological development may soon change that. “Currently, 99 percent of our transactions are conducted through digital channels, and only 1 percent occur at the counter. As transaction networks are streamlined in major urban areas, the demand for tellers, call center staff, and operations personnel will continue to decline sharply over the next one to two years,” the executive said.
Director Pham Chi Quang of the SBV’s Monetary Policy Department explained that the downsizing of human resources is taking place in tandem with restructuring and digital transformation. The goal is not only to optimize operations but, more importantly, to create room for lowering lending rates and supporting businesses and individuals. Digital transformation has become a key driver of sustainable profitability across the banking system. Currently, 90 percent–99 percent of transactions at major banks are conducted online, helping to reduce operating costs by 10 to 20 times compared with traditional in-person transactions.
Thanks to automation and big data analytics, labor productivity has increased by an average of 15 percent–20 percent per year. Meanwhile, the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) at several banks including Techcombank, MB, and TPBank has dropped below 35 percent, significantly lower than the 45 percent–50 percent levels seen previously. Along with cost savings, digital channels are also opening new revenue streams from online payments, insurance, investment, and lending services, with fee-based income now accounting for 30 percent–40 percent of total profits at some banks.
Chairman of VietinBank Tran Minh Binh stated that the bank has halted most recruitment for traditional business areas and is instead focusing on technology talent — expanding its tech workforce from 300 to nearly 1,000 employees in 2025 alone. Despite reducing its physical transaction points, VietinBank continues to invest heavily in core technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data to enhance product development and customer experience.
Experts emphasize that reducing the branch network does not mean shrinking in scale, but rather restructuring to maximize efficiency saving hundreds of billions of dong in operating costs to reinvest in digital infrastructure, AI, and big data.
Banking strategy expert Le Hoai An observed that processes such as personal lending and customer identification have been strongly automated. A single employee can now handle several times more work thanks to digitized systems. He said that branch closures represent a necessary ‘major surgery’ — a self-driven transformation that helps banks become leaner and better adapted to a new era, where customers place their trust in technology rather than grand physical offices.
