FILE PHOTO: A Vietnamese flag flies atop the State Bank building, near the Vietcombank and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam buildings, in central Hanoi, Vietnam November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
Ho Chi Minh City: While some commercial banks continue lowering deposit interest rates, others are increasing rates, particularly for term deposits of 12 months or longer.
As of early April, six commercial banks have raised their savings interest rates, including VPBank, SHB, Eximbank, HDBank, MSB, and Kienlongbank.
VPBank saw the largest increase, with rates going up from 0.1% to 0.5% across all terms. The highest increase was for the 12-month term, now offering 4.7% a year for deposits at the counter and 4.8% for online deposits.
Other banks such as MSB, SHB, Eximbank, and HDBank also raised their rates by 0.2% for specific terms.
The highest interest rate for deposits under one billion dong with a 24-month term is currently 5.8% per year.
An employee at an HDBank branch in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7, who asked to remain anonymous, told Viet Nam News that there has been a slight increase in deposit interest rates for the 12-month and 13-month terms.
The highest increase was seen in the 13-month term, with rates now at 4.9% a year for counter deposits, and 5.1% per year for online deposits.
“Customers who deposit over two billion dong with a total deposit balance of five billion dong are eligible for a higher deposit rate of up to 5.6% per year for the 13-month term,” she said.
The employee attributed the slight increase in deposit interest rates to the gradual recovery of credit growth in the market.
On the other hand, more than 10 banks have decreased deposit interest rates in recent weeks, including state-owned banks Vietcombank and VietinBank.
Private banks such as Techcombank, ACB, TPBank, VIB, Sacombank, SeABank, ABBank, BVBank, SCB, Oceanbank, and CBBank have also lowered rates by 0.1% to 0.5%.
Despite the decrease in deposits, liquidity in banks remains high, and credit activities had increased at the end of the first quarter, following negative growth in the previous months.
Bank leaders had predicted that savings interest rates will remain low until mid-year, with a potential increase once credit growth picks up in the last two quarters of the year. — Viet Nam News/ANN
