Vietnamese banks cut lending rates

A series of Vietnamese banks, both state-run and private, have announced interest rate reductions of 1-3 percentage points and preferential credit packages.

Along with lowering deposit interest rates, some banks have also begun to cut lending rates.

On February 16, Agribank, one of the “Big 4” banks in the country, announced it would reduce lending interest rates to support customers. Specifically, interest rates for real estate businesses will be slashed by up to 3 percentage points per year. The adjustment is applied from January 31, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

The wholly state-owned lender said this year it will spend more than VND100 trillion ($4.2 billion) implementing preferential credit programs for corporate customers in the fields of import-export, healthcare, and education; and reduce interest rates for customers in industries that are facing difficulties.

VietinBank, also in the “Big 4”, announced a credit package of VND10 trillion ($420 million) with a preferential interest rate from 7% per year to support small- and medium-sized enterprises in the first six months of 2023.

BIDV is offering a short-term loan package worth VND30 trillion ($1.26 billion) from January 1 to April 30, 2023 to meet the capital needs of customers, who will enjoy preferential interest rates of only 8% per year for loans of less than 6 months and from 9% per year for loans from 6-12 months.

In addition, BIDV has a VND100 trillion ($4.2 billion) credit package in 2023 with loans of over 12 months to serve daily needs and production and business activities. Individual customers will enjoy preferential interest rates from 10.3% per year in the first 12 months, or from 10.9% per year in the first 18 months.

Meanwhile, the other “Big 4” player Vietcombank has committed to reducing interest rates by 0.5% percentage points per year for all customers with existing and new loans, except for those engaging in risky fields such as real estate and securities. The rate applies from January 1 to April 30, 2023.

Many private banks have also announced interest rate reductions. MBBank has decided to lower loan interest rates by one percentage point for corporate customers with revenue below VND100 billion ($4.2 billion).

Techcombank has launched a VND30 trillion ($1.26 billion) credit package with a 2% interest rate incentive for manufacturing and trading enterprises involved in import-export activities.

At Sacombank, individual customers can borrow money for short-term production and business purposes with a minimum interest rate of 8.99% per year. A preferential interest rate of 7.5% per year is also applied to corporate customers who need capital to pay for imported or exported goods or those obtaining the “super VIP” status. In addition, individual customers can borrow up to 100% of a car's value over a period of up to 10 years with an interest rate of only 8.5% per year.

SeABank has launched a package of VND3 trillion ($126.3 million) aimed at reducing lending interest rates by 0.5-1 percentage points per year for short-term loans for business purposes.

For its part, Viet Capital Bank is offering "Preferential loans, super profitable business" for individual and corporate customers with interest rates from 10.5% per year. The VND1 trillion ($42.12 million) package is for customers who borrow money from February 1 to April 30, 2023.