Banks are preparing to increase savings interest rates

Savings interest rates at some banks are showing signs of reversing and are about to increase again after a long period of being low.

Customers transact at VPBank Pham Van Dong, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi. Photo: Tran Viet/ VNA

Accordingly, Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has adjusted interest rates up for all deposit terms from today, March 27.

Specifically, VPBank increased the online savings interest rate by 0.1% per year for deposits under 10 billion VND with a 1-month term; the remaining terms increased by 0.2% per year.

Currently, online deposit interest rates at VPBank are 2.4%/year for a 1-month term; 2.7%/year for a 2-5 month term; 4.2%/year for a 6-11 month term; 4.5%/year for a 12-18 month term and 4.9%/year for a 24 month term or more.

For deposit accounts from 10 billion VND to less than 50 billion VND, and deposit accounts from 50 billion VND or more, interest rates will be added by 0.1 and 0.2%/year respectively.

Before VPBank, savings interest rates at Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank ( SHB ), Saigon Industrial and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Saigonbank), Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank)... were also adjusted to increase, but only sporadically at some terms.

As at SHB, the latest online deposit interest rate for 1 and 2 month terms is listed at 2.8%/year, an increase of 0.1-0.2%/year compared to before. The interest rate for 12-month and 18-month terms was also slightly increased by SHB by 0.1%/year to 4.9 and 5.2%/year, respectively. For terms from 13-15 months, SHB increased the deposit interest rate by 0.2%/year to 5%/year.

In line with the trend, Saigonbank also adjusted to increase savings interest rates for long terms. Online deposit interest rates at Saigonbank for 18 and 36 month terms increased by 0.2 and 0.4%/year to 5.6 and 5.8%/year, respectively.

Meanwhile, Eximbank has listed an increase in online deposit interest rates for most short terms. Specifically, the interest rate applied for terms of 1-3 months is now from 3.1-3.4%/year, an increase of 0.3%/year compared to before.

On the contrary, the trend of decreasing interest rates is still common. Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank ( VIB ) has just continued to reduce 0.2%/year for deposit interest rates for terms from 1-5 months, bringing the interest rate for 1-month term down to 2.5%/year; 2-month term down to 2.6%/year and 3-5 month term down to 2.8%/year.

Similarly, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) has just reduced its deposit interest rates by 0.1-0.2% per year for all terms. Traditional savings interest rates, with interest paid at the end of the term, are listed by ACB at 2.1-2.3% per year for terms of 1-3 months; 3.3-3.6% per year for terms of 6-9 months; and 4.3-4.5% per year for terms of 12-36 months.

Not only small banks, a series of large banks including the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV), the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) have recently lowered their deposit interest rates to below 5%/year.

In the latest report of MB Securities Joint Stock Company (MBS), experts said that deposit interest rates may bottom out in the first quarter of 2024. MBS forecasts that 12-month deposit interest rates at some banks may increase by 25-50 basis points, returning to 5.25-5.5%/year in 2024.

Le Phuong (Vietnam News Agency)

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