According to statistics, by the end of Q1/2026, total outstanding loans (including margin loans and advances from sales) for the whole market are estimated at about 415 trillion VND, an increase of about 9,000 trillion VND compared to the end of 2025 and setting a new record high.
In which, outstanding margin debt accounted for the majority with about 405,000 billion VND, an increase of 13,000 billion VND after only 3 months. However, compared to the figure of 23,000 billion VND increased in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, the increase in the first quarter of 2026 has slowed down significantly.
The scale of lending continues to expand, helping securities companies (CTCK) maintain stable revenue, especially in the context that brokerage activities have not really broken through. By the end of Q1/2026, the market recorded 15 securities companies with outstanding loans exceeding 10,000 billion VND, of which 5 names including TCBS, SSI, VPBankS, VPS and HSC have all exceeded the 1 billion USD mark.
Techcombank Securities Company (TCBS) continues to lead the entire industry with outstanding loans of nearly 45,000 billion VND, slightly increasing compared to the beginning of the year. The group following behind recorded increasingly fierce competition, notably VPBankS and VPS with rapid growth. Notably, VPS recorded an increase in outstanding loans of nearly 8,000 billion VND in the first quarter of 2026 alone, thereby surpassing HSC to rise to 4th place in the market in terms of lending scale.
VPBankS is one of the securities companies with the largest margin debt growth rate in the market. As of the end of Q1/2026, total assets reached nearly 79,000 billion VND, an increase of 7.9% compared to the beginning of the year, mainly thanks to the expansion of margin debt and financial asset portfolio. Margin and advance loans exceeded 36,000 billion VND, an increase of 6.4%, while the remaining limit is up to about 32,000 billion VND, showing that the growth room is still very large.
Although reaching a new record high, the increase in outstanding loans in Q1/2026 has slowed down somewhat, reflecting a more cautious sentiment of investors towards leverage. Especially since the end of February, the market has been greatly affected by geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.
In addition, the general level of interest rates tending to increase also somewhat restrains margin demand. Specifically, margin interest rates at securities companies are commonly at 13-14%/year, reducing the attractiveness of leverage use, especially in the context of the market still having many fluctuations.
The Q1/2026 financial statements of some securities companies are also showing a clear difference between the scale of lending operations and the trading market share of securities companies. For example, in the case of VPBankS, this company has outstanding loans of more than 36,000 billion VND as of March 31, ranking 3rd in the industry.
However, the trading market share in Q1/2026 on HoSE of VPBankS is only ranked 9th. Similarly, TCBS has the largest outstanding loan balance in the industry with nearly 45,000 billion VND, far ahead of the securities companies behind, but the market share is only ranked 3rd.
According to financial expert Dr. Nguyen Duy Phuong, Investment Director of DG Capital, the phenomenon of many securities companies having large outstanding loans but disproportionate market share is reflecting the reality that a significant amount of margin does not serve the purpose of trading.
Frankly speaking, not the entire flow of borrowed capital is serving stock trading. A significant portion has shifted out of the stock market, being used by organizations, major shareholders or business leaders for other financial purposes.
Experts assess that the sharp increase in margin debt while brokerage market share is not commensurate is reflecting a shift in capital flow structure in the securities industry. If this cash flow is not directly associated with securities transactions but serves other purposes, the ability to repay debt will depend on the financial situation of the enterprise. When an incident occurs, the pressure to release the mortgage may spread and strongly impact the market.
