Banks are making every effort to attract deposits.

Deposits are increasing more slowly than loans, forcing many banks to raise deposit interest rates and compete to attract funds from the public during the peak year-end period.

In mid-December 2025, the deposit market continued to witness a wave of interest rate increases at many commercial banks. Increased liquidity pressure, coupled with credit growth outpacing deposit growth, forced banks to exert significant efforts to attract deposits from the public to balance their capital sources.

Offer for long-term deposits

On December 18th, the Vietnam Investment and Development Bank ( BIDV ) announced a new deposit interest rate schedule, showing further increases. Notably, BIDV has adjusted interest rates twice within just one week. According to the latest schedule, deposit interest rates for many maturities increased by 0.3 percentage points, with the highest rate reaching 5.3% per year for deposits of 36 months or more.

Not only state-owned banks, but also an increasing number of private commercial banks are offering savings interest rates exceeding 7% per year. Ms. Le Khanh Minh (residing in Ho Chi Minh City) said she was quite surprised when she deposited savings at Cake by VPBank with a listed interest rate of 6.9% per year for a 6-month term, plus an additional 0.6 percentage points from a promotional program. "The total interest rate I received reached 7.5% per year for a 6-month term, much higher than before," she compared.

At a commercial joint-stock bank, Ms. Tran Thi Diem was advised by a staff member to convert her 1-month term savings account to a longer term to enjoy a higher interest rate. "You can convert your 1-month term deposit to a 6-month term to enjoy an interest rate of 6.9% per year," the bank employee suggested when she came to mature her savings account on December 17th.

According to Ms. Diem, for several months she deposited 500 million VND at this bank with a 1-month term and an interest rate of 4.6% per year. Recently, the bank adjusted the interest rate for deposits from 1-5 months to 4.75% per year. "When I was offered an interest rate of 6.9% per year for a 6-month term and 7.1% per year for a 12-month term, I decided to switch to a 6-month deposit to enjoy the higher interest rate," she explained.

At Bank P (headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City), customers are also advised to deposit savings with quite competitive interest rates: 4.75%/year for a 1-month term, 7.25%/year for a 6-month term, and up to 7.4%/year for terms over 12 months. Meanwhile, a bank headquartered in Hanoi is even trying to entice customers to convert terms from 1-3 months to 6 or 12 months with interest rates up to 7.9%/year...

Statistics from the Vietnam Banking Association (VNBA) show that in November 2025 alone, 22 commercial banks adjusted their deposit interest rates upwards, with common increases of 0.1-0.3 percentage points. Some large banks raised interest rates for 6-12 month terms to 4.8%-5.2% per year to prepare capital for the peak credit season at the end of the year.

Since the beginning of December 2025, the trend of increasing deposit interest rates has continued to spread. Some banks are applying the highest interest rates in the market, such as Vikki Bank listing 6.5%-6.7%/year for terms of 6-13 months; Bac A Bank applying 6.2%-6.7%/year for longer terms. Meanwhile, state-owned banks (Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank) mainly increased interest rates for short terms, while long-term interest rates remained around 5%/year.

Deposit interest rates at many banks have exceeded 6% per year. Photo: DUY PHÚ

Will deposit interest rates continue to rise?

According to Mr. Nguyen The Minh, Director of Analysis at Yuanta Vietnam Securities Company, by mid-December 2025, approximately 15 more commercial banks had adjusted their deposit interest rates upwards. The average interest rate for 6-12 month term deposits has reached 5.5%-6.5% per year, and this trend may continue for the next few weeks.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam's report, by the end of November 2025, credit across the entire system increased by 16.56% compared to the end of the previous year, while deposit growth only reached approximately 9.6%-10.2%. Mr. Minh noted that this disparity leads to a temporary imbalance in short-term capital sources, forcing banks to increase deposit interest rates to compensate.

In the interbank market, overnight VND interest rates, although having cooled down, remain around 5.26% per annum. One-week and two-week rates range from 5.84% to 6.4% per annum, while one-month rates reach 7.42% per annum. This trend reflects the continued high demand for short-term capital within the banking system, especially as the gap between credit growth and deposit mobilization widens.

A general director of a bank in Ho Chi Minh City said that the system's outstanding loan balance is currently about 5% higher than its mobilized capital. Meanwhile, demand for loans is increasing sharply at the end of the year, and people tend to withdraw money for year-end spending, increasing liquidity pressure. "This forces many banks to increase deposit interest rates to attract capital and balance cash flow," he commented.

According to bank leaders, short-term lending interest rates in the interbank market have exceeded 7% per year, but loans are not always available due to tightened lending limits or sudden suspensions of disbursements. Therefore, many banks are choosing to increase deposit interest rates for both short-term and long-term maturities to proactively secure funding from the public.

Furthermore, the use of short-term capital for medium and long-term lending this year has been quite significant, bringing the ratio close to the 30% threshold stipulated by the State Bank of Vietnam. To alleviate compliance pressure, banks have been forced to increase short-term interest rates to attract more short-term capital into the system.

Regarding the overall picture, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Banking Association, noted that credit growth this year has been strongly boosted by the disbursement of public investment capital. The Government, the Prime Minister, and ministries, sectors, and localities have provided decisive direction, helping many projects achieve high disbursement rates.

Furthermore, production and business activities in the industrial, construction materials, consumer goods, and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors are showing signs of improvement, leading to increased demand for credit. Although import and export activities are under pressure from global fluctuations, the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and processing industries continue to play a crucial role in economic growth, thereby further driving demand for loans.

Mr. Hung noted that demand for loans typically increases at the end of the year, forcing some banks to adjust deposit interest rates upwards by 0.5-1 percentage point. Lending interest rates may also face pressure for adjustment afterward, but banks need to restructure their portfolios and select borrowers more carefully to mitigate risks.

Credit can reach 20%.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, by early December 2025, credit growth across the entire banking system had exceeded 16%, higher than the initial target. The Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Banking Association predicted that by the end of the year, credit growth across the entire sector could reach approximately 19%-20%. However, the State Bank of Vietnam will base its decisions on actual developments to flexibly manage the economy, supporting economic growth while ensuring liquidity and the safety of the banking system.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ngan-hang-doc-suc-huy-dong-tien-gui-196251218225943147.htm