On October 28, 2026, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued Decision 2370/QĐ-NHNN approving SeABank (ticker SSB, HoSE) to raise its charter capital from VND 34,288 billion to VND 34,688 billion. The bank announced the decision on November 2.CafeF It closes out the capital plan approved at the April 22 annual shareholders' meeting. Since the start of the year, charter capital has gone from VND 28,450 billion to VND 34,688 billion, an increase of VND 6,238 billion.Nhà Đầu Tư
A figure like VND 6,238 billion sounds as if the bank has just gained that much money to lend. It hasn't. The increase comes from two very different sources, and only one of them brings fresh cash into the bank.
Most of it is profit converted into shares
The first source is a stock dividend. SeABank issued about 583.8 million shares with a total par value of VND 5,838 billion to shareholders on the record list of May 29, 2026. The "payment" came from cumulative undistributed after-tax profit through the end of 2025.Nhà Đầu Tư On June 12, the SBV issued Decision 1269/QĐ-NHNN amending the charter capital on SeABank's license to VND 34,288 billion, at an exercise ratio of 100:20.5202.The Leader
No outside cash entered the bank in this round. Profit that already sat in shareholders' equity was simply moved into the charter capital line, like shifting money from one drawer to the next in the same cabinet. SeABank's balance sheet shows it clearly. In its consolidated Q3 financial statements, charter capital at September 30, 2026 rose from VND 28,450 billion to VND 34,288 billion, while undistributed profit fell from VND 8,218 billion to just over VND 5,255 billion.FireAnt
Over the same period, total shareholders' equity reached more than VND 43,248 billion, up about 7.1% from the start of the year.FireAnt Charter capital grew about 20.5%, but shareholders' capital thickened by only about 7.1%. That gap is the profit that merely changed drawers and created no new capital.
For a bank, keeping profit in the form of shares instead of paying cash is a familiar choice: the money stays to fund lending, while the license shows a larger charter capital number. SeABank said the capital increase is part of a strategy to strengthen its financial capacity, improve prudential ratios and invest in technology infrastructure.Nhà Đầu Tư
The new money: VND 400 billion from 481 employees
The second source is a share sale to employees. SeABank issued 40 million shares at VND 10,000 each to 481 staff, hitting 100% of the planned volume and reporting the result in August 2026. According to SeABank, this is the fifth time the bank has used this format.Tin nhanh chứng khoán Employees registered and paid between July 23 and August 12, 2026,Mekong ASEAN and the offering ended on August 24.24HMoney
This is the only fresh cash in the year's two capital increases. The price equals par value, so the entire VND 400 billion goes into charter capital with no share premium. VND 400 billion is only about 6.4% of the VND 6,238 billion added during the year, and under 1% of the VND 43,248 billion-plus in shareholders' equity at September 30.
A natural question follows: the shares were sold by August, so why did the new charter capital only arrive at the end of October? For a commercial bank, charter capital is a line on the establishment and operation license issued by the SBV. Each time it changes, the SBV must issue a decision amending the license, as with Decision 1269 in June for the dividend and Decision 2370 on October 28 for the employee sale. That is why the September 30 financial statements still show charter capital of VND 34,288 billion.FireAnt
The VND 10,000 price versus the market price
The employee price sits well below the market. On August 24, the day the offering ended, SSB closed at VND 15,500, VND 5,500 above the offering price per share. Multiplied by 40 million shares, the paper gap that day was about VND 220 billion.
The VND 220 billion is a one-day market-price calculation, not money employees have received. Under the offering plan, these shares are subject to a 12-month transfer restriction from the completion of the issuance. After 12 months holders may sell up to 60%, and the remainder becomes freely transferable after 18 months.Mekong ASEAN The real value of the perk will depend on where SSB trades at those dates. Selling shares below market to staff is a common retention tool among listed companies, and the discount is not paid out in cash by the bank: it comes from the share count rising while proceeds come in below market value.
What SSB holders see in their accounts
Take a shareholder with 10,000 SSB shares before the May 29 record date. At the 100:20.5202 ratio, this person received about 2,052 more shares, for roughly 12,050 in total. The share count rose about 20.5%, but every other shareholder received the same ratio, so this person's stake in the bank did not change. The reference price was adjusted on the ex-rights date in May.
The employee sale is different. The 40 million new shares equal about 1.17% of the shares outstanding before the offering, and outside shareholders could not buy them.24HMoney After the offering, total shares stand at about 3,468.8 million, matching charter capital of VND 34,688 billion at a par value of VND 10,000. Each existing shareholder's stake is therefore diluted by about 1.15%. Shareholders did not have to do anything for either round. In the morning session on November 3, SSB traded at VND 15,000.
How to read a bank capital increase
SeABank's case this year shows that the charter capital figure and the cash actually entering the bank can be far apart. Of the VND 6,238 billion added, VND 5,838 billion is profit already in equity, now converted into shares. The only capital added from outside is VND 400 billion paid in by 481 employees.
When you read that a bank is raising capital, the simplest check is to ask where the increase came from: retained profit, shareholders paying for more shares, or new investors buying a private placement. Only the last two bring new money onto the balance sheet. For SeABank, the Q4 financial statements will be the first to show charter capital of VND 34,688 billion, and the equity lines in that report will show the capital base after both rounds.