Determinants of Liquidity Risk in Vietnamese Commercial Banks

Abstract

Liquidity risk, which tends to compound other risks such as credit and market risks, has become one of the principal risks in banks. Thus, this study examined the determinants of liquidity risk measured by the loan deposit ratio (LDR). The sample included 30 commercial banks in Vietnam based on secondary data coverage from 2017-2021. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the general situation of the banks' assets, liabilities, and business performance. The random effects model (REM) was chosen to determine factors affecting liquidity risk. The results show the huge gap in the business performance of the four state-owned banks and the rest of the joint-stock commercial banks, and the state-owned banks always accounted for over 50% of the total credit, assets, and deposits of the whole banking system. The average banks’ credit and profit growth rates were around 17% and 30%, respectively, and the bad debt ratio was about 2%. Increasing a bank’s credit growth rate and profitability would push up its liquidity risk. On the other hand, holding several liquid securities that banks could sell immediately to meet solvency requirements and maintaining a high capital adequacy ratio (CAR) would reduce their liquidity risk. These findings are valuable to the banks in understanding how to minimize liquidity risk, such as controlling the credit growth rate and CAR, setting appropriate profit targets, and investing in liquid securities. Additionally, by conducting monetary policies, the State Bank should regulate market liquidity and bank liquidity for the safe operation of the financial system.