Vietnamese banks reduce interest rates below 8.8%

Domestic banks in Vietnam have reduced their deposit interest rates to below 8.8% for all terms of 12 months or less in line with the central bank’s instructions.

Vietnam's banking sector has reduced deposit interest rates by 1-1.2 percentage points and loan interest rates by 0.5-0.65 percentage points in the first four months of this year, but further cuts are needed, Dao Minh Tu, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) told the government's monthly press meeting on May 5.

He elaborated these cuts, including one in the first quarter and another in April, are part of the central bank's policy to aid businesses in line with its flexible monetary policy to tame inflation, stabilize the currency, and harmonize exchange and interest rates.

The central bank has urged banks to further cut interest rates in order to facilitate access to loans and boost credit growth, Tu added.

For terms of 12 months or less, the highest interest rates are 8.8% at ABBank and 8.7% at Viet A Bank.

State-controlled creditors VietinBank, Vietcombank, BIDV, and Agribank, or the “Big 4” banks, offer the same rate of 7.2%, the lowest in Vietnam.

For 13-month terms, ABBank also has the highest interest rate of 9%, followed by Viet A Bank with 8.7% and GPBank with 8.6%.

For 36-month terms, ABBank again offers the highest rate of 9.2%. Viet A Bank follows at 8.8%, VietBank at 8.6%, and GPBank and Bac A Bank both at 8.6%.

For terms of one month or three months, rates are all at 5.5% or lower.

The “Big 4” banks apply the lowest interest rates among all lenders, from 4.6% for one-month terms, 5.1% for three-month terms, to 7.2% for terms of 12 months or more.

Techcombank, a major private lender, has set a low rate of 5.5% for terms between one and three months, and 7.6% for terms between six months and 36 months.

Sacombank, another strong private lender, is offering low rates of 5.3%-5.5% for terms between one and three months, 7.2% for six-month terms, 7.6% for 12-month terms, and 7.7% for 36-month terms.

VPBank, among the biggest private lenders, has set rates of 5.5% for terms under six months, 8% for terms between six and 11 months, and 8.2% for terms of 12 and 13 months. Terms of 15 months or more are subject to 7.4% interest.

However, loan interest rates remain high due to high demand for capital, rising interest rates on the global market, and credit institutions facing problems related to debt collection, the SBV noted.

The SBV clarified the banking system remained the main provider of capital for the economy, and the credit to GDP ratio reached 125.34% at the end of 2022. Additionally, the post-Covid-19 recovery has pushed the demand for capital, putting more pressure on the banking system, while banks are focusing on short-term deposits.

Moreover, as an open economy, interest rates and exchange rates in Vietnam are susceptible to global changes. The total loans issued by the banking system now exceed the total deposits by VND167 trillion ($7.12 billion), it stressed.

The central bank added that global interest rates have been rising in 2023, such as the U.S. Fed increasing rates to 5-5.25%, pressuring interest rates in Vietnam. Another factor is that average inflation in Vietnam reached 3.84% in the first four months of this year, prompting banks to give high interest rates amid depositors' expections of rates exceeding inflation.

Additionally, borrowers must continue paying interest on their agreed terms, regardless of market developments or the SBV's updates, hence loan interest rates remain high, the central bank noted.