Behind the banks' decision to change their names

VietCapital Bank has just announced its new English abbreviation after being approved by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to change its name from VietCapital Bank to BVBank.

The bank said that the change to the new abbreviation BVBank is based on the criteria of being short, easy to call, easy to remember, creating convenience in calling the name when customers transact with the bank. At the same time, the abbreviation is also consistent with the stock code BVB listed by this bank.

However, BVBank of Ban Viet Bank is also likely to cause confusion for customers because it is too similar to Bao Viet Bank.

The trend of changing English abbreviations to be short and easy to remember is becoming an inevitable trend of Vietnamese banks. Lien Viet Post Bank (Lienvietpostbank) has officially changed its entire brand identity after being approved by the State Bank to change its English abbreviation from Lienvietpostbank to LPBank.

LPBank is also similar to the stock code LPB of this bank. Changing the brand identity is considered a strategic step of the banks to start a new development phase.

BVBank is the new abbreviation of VietCapital Bank.

Previously, Tien Phong Bank also changed its English abbreviation from TienPhong Bank to TPBank.

Another bank also wanted to change its English abbreviation to KienLong Bank but it has not been approved by the State Bank.

Previously, in April 2021, KienLong Bank changed its abbreviated name to "KSB" and changed its brand identity at some branches and transaction offices.

Kienlong Bank believes that changing the abbreviation helps the bank convey a clear message and is consistent with the digitalization goal in the new period. The bank also explains that the letter "K" in KSBank represents the word Kien Long, while "S" is the symbol of the map of Vietnam.

In July 2021, the Kienlong Bank Shareholders' Meeting passed a resolution to change the bank's English abbreviation to KSBank. However, the regulatory authority did not approve the proposal to change the English abbreviation on the operating license due to failure to ensure compliance with regulations on documents, procedures, and approval of certain changes of commercial banks, foreign bank branches, and relevant legal regulations on naming.

In the coming time, many banks are likely to change their names, even their Vietnamese names. The bank is rumored to change its name to Petrolimex Joint Stock Commercial Bank (PGBank).

The name change is considered reasonable after major shareholder Petrolimex has completely withdrawn its capital from the bank. However, this has not been discussed by the bank at its recent Annual General Meeting.

Currently, PGBank has not made any move to show its readiness to change its name while waiting for the introduction of a new group of shareholders to replace Petrolimex.

Previously, some banks changed their names such as Navibank changed its name to National Bank, TrustBank changed its name to Construction Bank (CBBank).

Source