Saving in gold: Real demand but need to be cautious

Recently, people have started to mention the desire to save money in gold. This is a real need, but according to experts, caution and careful calculation are needed.

Real need

After several years of retirement, Ms. Minh Nguyet (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi ) has several savings books and regularly buys gold whenever she has income. Normally, she keeps the books and gold in the closet and is not worried. However, after her sister's house, which lives a few hundred meters away from her family, showed signs of being broken into, she began to think.

According to Ms. Nguyet, savings books are not a problem because even if they are taken, thieves cannot withdraw the money. Gold is different. There was a time when she wanted to sell her gold to save money, but she did not do so because she used to work in the financial industry, so she always kept in mind that "not all eggs should be in the same basket". Therefore, she is determined to keep saving money and keeping her gold.

And then she suddenly thought: “Why not let the bank keep the gold?”. Ms. Nguyet wishes that the bank would be allowed to keep the gold for the people and pay interest like in the old days. Saving in gold not only helps gold as money to circulate, but also ensures the safety of people’s assets.

Sharing the same wish as Ms. Nguyet is Mr. Quang (Tay Mo, Hanoi). However, what Mr. Quang is worried about is fire and explosion. Just this week, there have been two apartment fires in Hanoi alone, which makes him worried. According to Mr. Quang, burned documents can be redone, but burned gold is "turned to gold". Therefore, Mr. Quang also hopes that he will have the opportunity to save in gold, thereby contributing to currency circulation.

Recently, people have started to mention their desire to save in gold. Illustration photo.

Need to mobilize gold from the people

Speaking with reporters from Cong Thuong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banking Association, said that saving in gold has many problems.

If you deposit gold in the bank and the bank just leaves it empty, it will be a waste. If the bank uses that gold to lend, when the price of gold increases too much, customers will suffer, or even be unable to repay the debt, which will also affect the bank.

Giving the opposite view, Dr. Ngo Tri Long, an economic expert, estimated that 500-600 tons of physical gold are in the hands of the people, equivalent to 45-50 billion USD, but cannot be mobilized for production and investment due to the lack of legal, transparent and safe channels. The core reason is the administrative management policy and the monopoly of gold bars.

According to the new interest rate schedule updated in June 2025, HDFC Bank lends gold at interest rates from 9.3%/year - 16%/year. Photo: Hoang Quyen

Therefore, Mr. Long commented, “Compared to the international level, Vietnam lags behind in gold management.” While many countries have established national gold exchanges (China, India, Thailand), or encouraged the formation of gold investment funds (gold ETFs), Vietnam still maintains a manual monopoly mechanism.

Regarding the utilization of gold resources from the people, Mr. Long said that India mobilizes gold from the people through the "Gold Monetisation Scheme", paying interest to depositors in gold and reusing that gold for the jewelry industry.

Therefore, Mr. Long proposed developing alternative investment channels; piloting gold investment funds, gold certificates, sending gold through gold investment funds; building a fund model to help attract about 500 - 600 tons of gold currently stored among the people.

Gold fluctuates, gold lending is still profitable

It can be seen that the need for people to save gold is real (from which banks lend gold) and the risks are also real. But as mentioned above, India has a “Gold Monetisation Scheme” program that pays interest to gold depositors. At the same time, many banks in the world’s second largest gold consuming country have gold loan products with interest rates that can offset fluctuations in gold prices.

Chart: Hoang Quyen.

For example, gold loan products are quite popular at HDFC Bank in India. According to the new interest rate schedule updated in June 2025, HDFC Bank offers gold loans at interest rates ranging from 9.3%/year to 16%/year. Another Indian bank, ICICI Bank, also offers this product at interest rates ranging from 9.15% to 18%/year.

It can be seen that gold lending interest rates range from 9% to less than 20% per year. Meanwhile, in the past 10 years (except 2020), the increase in gold has fluctuated below the gold lending interest rate.

Specifically, in terms of gold price fluctuations, at the end of 2024 to 2025, SJC gold prices will reach approximately VND 82.5 - 84.5 million/tael (2024); VND 71.50 - 74.00 million/tael (2023); VND 65.65 - 66.82 million/tael (2022); VND 60.90 - 61.60 million/tael (2021); VND 55.55 - 56.1 million/tael (2020); VND 42.25 - 42.77 million/tael (2019); VND 36.33 - 36.55 million/tael (2018); 36.29 - 36.66 million VND/tael (2017); 36.10 - 36.30 million VND/tael (2016); 32.20 - 32.70 million VND/tael (2015).

Thus, the growth momentum of SJC gold in the years from 2024 to 2016 is respectively 14.2% (2024), 10.7% (2023), 8.5% (2022), 9.8% (2021), 31.2% (2020), 17% (2019), -0.3% (2018), 1% (2017), 11% (2016).

Before 2012, gold savings and gold-backed loans were popular products at commercial banks. However, when gold prices fluctuated sharply, many risks occurred. Therefore, the State Bank issued Circular 11/2011 and then Circular 12/2012, requiring banks to stop mobilizing and lending capital in gold from June 30, 2012. Up to now, banks no longer mobilize gold or lend gold but are allowed to keep gold.

Hoang Quyen

Source: https://congthuong.vn/gui-tiet-kiem-bang-vang-nhu-cau-co-that-nhung-can-than-trong-391250.html