Banks hike deposit interest rates as inflows slow

Six lenders, VPBank, SHB, Eximbank, HDBank, MSB, and Kienlongbank, have hiked the rates.

VPBank’s rates are now 0.1-0.5 percentage points higher across the board while the others only raised them by 0.2 percentage points for selected terms.

Meanwhile, 10 banks have cut rates for most terms, with two state-owned banks cutting them by 0.1-0.2 percentage points and eight private lenders by up to 0.5 percentage points.

Currently the highest rate for 12 months is 5.3% at NamABank and VietBank.

Deposit inflows have been slowing down.

By the end of March, total deposits have fallen by 0.76% from the beginning of the year, according to data from the General Statistics Office.

Nevertheless, banks’ liquidity remain high.

Lending grew by 1% to VND13.79 quadrillion (US$552.4 billion) in the first quarter, with many banks reporting a 3-5% increase in loans outstanding.

Bankers expect credit to grow at a faster pace in the second half of the year.

Until then deposit interest rates would remain low, they said.