Digital transformation and bank performance in Vietnam: Evidence from textual analysis

Digital transformation has become a global trend and directly impacts every field and industry, including the banking industry. In Vietnam, joint stock commercial banks have been focusing their resources on investing in digital transformation applications to improve business quality, leading to an increase in information about digital transformation in annual reports. The authors applied textual analysis and regression research methods to evaluate the level of digital transformation of commercial banks on the Vietnamese stock market measured by the number of keywords about digital transformation in the annual report for the period 2012-2022, as well as assessing the impact of digital transformation on banks' business performance. The results show a significant increase in the level of digital transformation and the positive impact of digital transformation on bank performance. In addition, the results indicate that there are significant differences in the level of digital transformation and impact of digital transformation on business performance among banks with different assets. Hence, the authors propose solutions for banks as well as recommendations for the State and investors to further promote banks’ digital transformation activities.