Banks simultaneously increase interest rates amid peak year-end production

Since October, banks have been racing to increase deposit interest rates. Starting from small joint stock commercial banks, the race to increase deposit interest rates has spread to large banks and has seen the participation of state-owned banks.

VietinBank became the first state-owned commercial bank to raise its deposit interest rate at the end of November, after nearly a year and a half of stability. Currently, the bank's online savings deposit rate for a term of 1-2 months is 2.4%/year, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to June 2024.

3-5 month term deposits increased to 2.8%/year, up 0.5 percentage points; 6-11 month term deposits are at 3.9%/year, up 0.6 percentage points.

Banks are racing to increase deposit interest rates at the end of the year.

Interest rates on long-term deposits remain unchanged at 4.7% per year for 12-18 month terms and 5% per year for 24-36 month terms.

For savings at the counter, this bank still applies the old interest rate. In which, under 3 months interest rate is 1.6%/year; from 3 to under 6 months interest rate is 1.9%/year; 6-12 months is 3%/year; 12-24 months is 4.7%/year. Term of 24 months or more interest rate is 4.8%/year.

Of the remaining 3 state-owned banks, Vietcombank currently has the lowest deposit interest rate, only 1.6%/year for terms under 3 months; 2.9%/year for terms of 6-11 months; 4.6%/year for terms of 12-18 months and 4.7%/year for terms of 24-36 months...

At Agribank , the interest rate for savings with a term of less than 3 months is 2.4%/year; for a term of 3-5 months, the interest rate is 3%/year; 3.7%/year applies to a term of 6-11 months; for a term of 12-18 months, the interest rate is 4.8%/year and for a term of 24-36 months, the interest rate is 4.9%/year.

BIDV also listed the highest savings interest rate at 4.9% for a 24-36 month term; the lowest is 2% for a term under 3 months...

In total, by the end of November, 21 banks increased their deposit interest rates. Of which, many banks are applying interest rates of 5.9-6.5%/year for long terms. For the 18-month term, Bac A Bank is applying the highest rate of up to 6.5%/year; PvcomBank is 6.3%/year; Vikki Bank is 6.4%/year; VCBNeo is 6.2%/year; HDB is 6.1%/year...

Businesses are worried that lending interest rates will increase along with deposit interest rates during the year-end production and business season.

Mr. Vo Tan Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), expressed concern about the recent trend of banks racing to increase deposit interest rates, especially private commercial banks at the end of the year, when businesses need capital to focus on production and business. He said that the race for deposit interest rates could put pressure on commodity prices, risking increased inflation.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Vu Anh Khoa, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association, also said that one of the concerns of businesses today is that lending interest rates may increase following the race for deposit interest rates. At this time, businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, especially those in the consumer goods and food sectors, are actively producing and stocking up for Tet.

Dr. Can Van Luc, member of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council, confirmed that deposit interest rates have recently increased significantly.

However, the main reason is not that banks lack capital, but because recently, many other investment channels are much more attractive than bank deposits, such as stocks, gold, and real estate, all of which have increased sharply. Digital currency and crypto assets are also popular with investors, making bank deposits less competitive.

However, businesses are not too concerned because the Government's management viewpoint and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) still do not increase lending interest rates, keeping the operating interest rate stable at about 4.5%/year to promote growth. Accordingly, banks must accept using other options to balance operations, such as improving business efficiency, accepting reduced profit margins, etc.

The continuous increase in gold in recent times is one of the reasons why bank deposits have lost their attractiveness.

This economic expert also affirmed that businesses should prepare for an acceleration year in 2026, when macroeconomic conditions are very stable and development conditions are favorable.

He also said that this year's credit growth forecast will be positive at around 16-17% and noted that Vietnam's capital market is now more diversified, no longer solely dependent on bank capital. However, bank capital still accounts for over 50%, so it is necessary to accelerate other channels such as bonds, stocks, investment funds, and other resources to supplement medium- and long-term capital for businesses.

At the same time, mobilize people to convert assets in the form of capital including money, gold, crypto assets, etc. into production and business, helping the capital market to ease pressure in the coming time.

According to data just released by the State Bank of Vietnam, by the end of September, deposits from both individual customers and economic organizations at credit institutions reached nearly 16.18 million billion VND, an increase of nearly 3% compared to the data released at the end of July.
Of which, deposits from residents were over VND7.83 trillion, up 10.86% compared to the beginning of the year. Deposits from businesses reached over VND8.35 trillion, up 8.91% compared to the end of 2024.

Ha Linh

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ngan-hang-dong-loat-tang-lai-suat-giua-cao-diem-san-xuat-cuoi-nam-ar990655.html