Banks are preparing to increase savings interest rates.
Savings interest rates at some banks are showing signs of reversing and starting to increase again after a long period of staying at low levels.
Accordingly, Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) adjusted interest rates up for all deposit terms from 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 deposit interest rate for 12 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 terms of 18 and 36 months increased by 0.2 and 0.4%/year to 5.6 and 5.8%/year, respectively.
Meanwhile, Eximbank has announced an increase in online deposit interest rates for most short-term periods. Specifically, the interest rate applied for 1-3 month terms is now 3.1-3.4%/year, an increase of 0.3%/year compared to before.
On the other hand, the trend of decreasing interest rates is still widespread. Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) has just continued to reduce the interest rate of deposits with terms from 1-5 months by 0.2%/year, bringing the interest rate of 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.
