State Bank of Vietnam lowers central rate to VND24,600 per dollar

The State Bank of Vietnam brought the central exchange rate down to VND24,600 per U.S dollar on Monday, from VND24,603 last Friday.

As a result, the figure returned to the March 24 level after staying at VND24,615 a day earlier.

Per the central bank’s (SBV) trading band of +-5%, the move means commercial banks can set their exchange rates between VND22,420-24,780.

The rates did not change much at commercial banks on Monday.

At state-controlled Vietcombank, one of the country's "Big 4" banks, Monday’s buying and selling rates were VND23,280 and VND23,620 per U.S. dollar respectively at 3.30 p.m., unchanged from Friday's tallies.

VietinBank, another “Big 4”, had corresponding figures of VND23,278 and VND23,618 at the same time, versus VND23,240 and VND23,660 on Friday.

BIDV, also a “Big 4” bank, had buying and selling rates of VND23,295 and VND23,595, down from VND23,300 and VND23,600 on Friday, respectively.

The figures at Techcombank, a leading private lender, were VND23,288 and VND23,620, down from VND23,289 and VND23,621 last Friday.

On Monday morning, the SBV adjusted the exchange rate at its Transaction Office. Specifically, the selling price of the U.S. dollar decreased from VND24,780 to VND23,730, the first drop since December 2022. The buying price remained unchanged at VND23,450.

The State Bank of Vietnam lowered its policy interest rates by 0.5 percentage points from April 3, the second cut within one month, to support growth amid global economic headwinds. The fresh move puts the refinance rate at 5.5%, while the discount rate remains unchanged at 3.5%, as does the overnight interbank rate at 6%. Besides, the ceiling interest rates on dong-denominated deposits will be cut by 0.5 percentage points to between 0.5% and 6.0%, depending on the terms.

The central bank has been managing well, especially with recent interest rate cuts, indicating the country has moved on from taming inflation to backing economic growth, said Asian Development Bank (ADB) chief economist for Vietnam Nguyen Minh Cuong.