Savings interest rates increase, experts say surprising things

(NLDO) – The savings interest rate at the 4 "big" banks is approximately 5%/year, which is reasonable, because savings is not a high-profit investment channel.

On December 9, according to a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, the latest interest rates at four state-owned commercial banks, including Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV and Agribank, for terms of 12 months or more are all less than 5%/year.

Specifically, VietinBank, Agribank and BIDV are mobilizing 12-month term deposit interest rates at 4.7%/year, while Vietcombank is lower at 4.6%/year.

With a longer term of 24 months, the interest rate at VietinBank and Agribank is 4.8%/year and at Vietcombank and BIDV is 4.7%/year.

These interest rates are significantly lower than those of large-scale joint stock commercial banks at around 5% - 5.5%/year.

While smaller joint stock banks are around 5.5% - 6%/year, some banks list savings interest rates exceeding 6%/year. Some banks even raise deposit interest rates to 8-9% when large customers deposit 500 billion VND or more.

Although interest rates have increased for savings deposits at many banks today, they are still low compared to previous years.

As of September 2024, statistics from Maybank Securities Company show that 12-month deposit interest rates have increased by an average of about 0.6 percentage points from the bottom in March 2024, mainly driven by joint stock banks.

Meanwhile, state-owned banks (Vietcombank, BIDV and VietinBank) are trying to control the increase in deposit interest rates to meet the Government's direction.

Maybank experts expect deposit interest rates to increase by an average of 0.5 percentage points in the next 9 months as credit growth remains reasonable and does not have a major impact on banks and the economy (in terms of capital mobilization costs).

Economist, Dr. Dinh The Hien also commented that although the mobilization interest rate has increased, the market has not attracted cash flow by racing for high interest rates like last year. Currently, the VND interest rate at 5%/year is reasonable. A stable mobilization interest rate will contribute to stabilizing the capital market.

"Savings are not an investment channel to expect high returns, low risks, that is, to earn profits on passive money. Deposit interest rates in developed countries around the world are very low, only slightly higher than the inflation rate. In Vietnam, 12-month savings interest rates at 4 state-owned commercial banks fluctuate below 5%/year. This is a very reasonable interest rate, the difference with inflation is about 1%" - Dr. Hien said.

Why low interest rates are good for the economy?

According to this expert, people are used to depositing money in banks for both safety and high interest rates, but this will create a very high cost of capital for the banking industry. This will lead to high interest rates for businesses and consumers.

"In particular, 2024 can be said to be a period of stable interest rates, not a place to seek profits, helping capital costs through bank credit supply gradually return to a reasonable level. This is a condition to support the economy to recover and develop sustainably" - Dr. Dinh The Hien added.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/lai-suat-hom-nay-9-12-lai-gui-tiet-kiem-tang-chuyen-gia-noi-dieu-bat-ngo-196241208214938288.htm