Three Vietnamese banks reduce loan interest rates to aid production

Agribank has become the third and latest bank in Vietnam to reduce its loan interest rates to aid production, after Vietcombank and HDBank.

Agribank has announced a reduction of 20% in interest rates for loans in Vietnamese dong as of November 30 for companies, cooperatives, and household businesses. For loans between December 1 and 31, a reduction of up to 20% is available for some applicants and sectors.

Besides, borrowers being businesses and individuals impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic can have their debt payment timeline restructured and interest rates reduced.

Earlier, Vietcombank set a reduction of one percentage point for loans in Vietnamese dong for businesses and individuals between November 1 and December 31.

By lowering loan interest rates by up to 3.5 percentage points for the November 1 to December 31 period, HDBank may decrease its loan interest by nearly VND120 billion ($4.93 million). The lender estimated 38,000 individual customers with 45,000 loans can enjoy interest rate reductions.

Besides, the bank offers loan interest reduction of 0.5-2.5 percentage points for businesses in sectors of import-export, processing-industry, agriculture, transport, tourism, education-training, accommodation-food, and others.

Agribank is wholly state-owned, while the state is the majority shareholder of Vietcombank and HDBank is a domestic private lender.

At a governmental meeting on September 22, the Prime Minister requested relevant authorities to implement monetary policy flexibly and cautiously. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) was asked to proactively and flexibly manage the situation and promote loan interest rate support of 2%.

On November 17, the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the SBV urged local credit institutions to continue offering reduced loan interest rates to businesses participating in market stabilization. The bank said keeping the selling prices of products stable amid higher input prices is essential as the New Year and Lunar New Year holidays are approaching.