Vietnamese commercial banks experienced a dramatic increase in profits from securities investment and trading in Q4 2023, driven by a significant drop in interest rates. This led to higher government bond prices, which are a major part of banks’ investment portfolios, resulting in a 195% surge in net profits to over VND5.6tr (USD239.3m). ACB and Bắc Á Bank notably reported substantial gains, with securities activities contributing significantly to their non-interest income. However, experts caution that sustaining these high profit levels may be challenging in future quarters due to limited room for further interest rate cuts by the State Bank of Vietnam, aimed at stabilising inflation and the foreign exchange rate.