At the end of 2022, in the context of banks racing to increase deposit interest rates to attract deposits to relieve businesses' "capital thirst", the term of 12 months is commonly above 10%. Commercial banks, through the Banking Association, agreed to control the maximum deposit interest rate at 9.5%/year from December 15, 2022. However, the race for deposit interest rates continued to "heat up" in early 2023. Despite the above agreement, many banks, although listed at only 9-9.3%/year, in reality secretly paid interest rates of up to 10.5%, even 12.5%/year. At the beginning of 2023, the ceiling interest rate according to the State Bank's regulations for deposit mobilization with terms of 1-6 months was 6%/year. 100% of joint stock commercial banks have listed the maximum interest rate for deposits with terms of less than 6 months. The Big4 group also set this term up to 5.7%/year in the first quarter of 2023. After 4 adjustments to the operating interest rate from March to June 2023, the maximum interest rate according to the State Bank's regulations for deposits with terms of 1-6 months is 4.75%. Currently, no bank applies the maximum interest rate for these terms, only commonly from 3-3.8%/year. Even the Big4 group as well as some joint stock commercial banks have brought the interest rates for these terms down to below 3%/year. At Vietcombank, this term is only from 1.9-2.2%/year. With the above developments, the mobilization interest rate for terms of 1-6 months will decrease by an average of about 2.5-3%/year in 2023. Notably, the term of 6-12 months. As mentioned above, the thirst for cash at the beginning of 2023 forced some banks to "break the barrier" on interest rates. There are joint stock commercial banks that, although listing interest rates for 6-12 month deposits at 8.5-9.3%/year, actually pay up to 11.5%/year for 6-month deposits and 12.5%/year for 12-month deposits. By December 31, the interest rates for 6-month and 12-month deposits were 5.3-5.4%/year, respectively. Thus, the interest rates for 6-12 month deposits at this bank decreased from 6.2 to 7.1%/year, respectively. This is a decrease that is hard to imagine a year ago. Also in January 2023, the interest rate for 12-month deposits at Sacombank was 9.6%/year and VietBank was 11%. As of December 31, the interest rates for the same term at these two banks were 5% and 5.7%/year, respectively, equivalent to a decrease of 4.6-5.3%/year. The same thing happened to the remaining banks, the difference in 6-month term interest rates at Techcombank between January and December 2023 was up to 5.05%. At ACB, the difference in 6-month term interest rates was 3.5%/year. Some banks with similar interest rates to Techcombank and ACB are VPBank, TPBank, Sacombank, the difference between the beginning of the year and the end of the year also followed a similar scenario. In fact, compared to the beginning of the year, the mobilization interest rate decreased by about 3-3.5% in 2023. Compared to the level that banks "tacitly agreed" at the beginning of the year, the mobilization interest rate decreased by about 5%/year.
HIGHEST DEPOSITS INTEREST RATES AT BANKS ON DECEMBER 31, 2023
BANK 1 MONTH 3 MONTHS 6 MONTHS 9 MONTHS 12 MONTHS 18 MONTHS
HDBANK 3.65 3.65 5.5 5.2 5.7 6.5
KIENLONGBANK 3.95 3.95 5.4 5.6 5.7 6.2
NCB 4.25 4.25 5.35 5.45 5.7 6
ABBANK 3.2 3.5 5.3 5 4.3 4
VIETBANK 3.8 4 5.3 5.4 5.7 6.1
BAOVIETBANK 4.2 4.55 5.3 5.4 5.6 6
VIET A BANK 4.3 4.3 5.3 5.3 5.6 6
PVCOMBANK 3.35 3.35 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.7
GPBANK 4.05 4.05 5.25 5.25 5.45 5.55
BAC A BANK 3.8 4 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.85
SHB 3.5 3.8 5.2 5.4 5.6 6.1
CBBANK 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.5
OCB 3.8 4 5.1 5.2 5.4 6.1
BVBANK 3.8 3.9 5.05 5.2 5.5 5.55
DONG A BANK 3.9 3.9 4.9 5.1 5.4 5.6
NAMA BANK 3.3 4 4.9 5.2 5.7 6.1
PGBANK 3.1 3.5 4.9 5.3 5.8 6.1
OCEANBANK 3.7 3.9 4.8 5 5.5 5.7
LPBANK 3.5 3.7 4.8 4.9 5.3 5.7
VIB 3.4 3.5 4.7 4.7 5.1
EXIMBANK 3.5 3.8 4.7 5.1 5.2 5.6
SACOMBANK 3.6 3.8 4.7 4.95 5 5.1
TECHCOMBANK 3.45 3.65 4.45 4.5 4.75 4.75
TPBANK 3.2 3.4 4.4 5 5.3
MB 2.9 3.2 4.4 4.6 4.9 5.4
SEABANK 3.6 3.8 4.4 4.55 5 5.1
VPBANK 3.3 3.4 4.3 4.3 5.1 5.1
SAIGONBANK 2.8 3 4.2 4.4 5.1 5.5
MSB 3.5 3.5 4.2 4.2 4.9 4.9
ACB 2.6 2.9 3.9 4.1 4.7
BIDV 2.3 2.6 3.6 3.6 5 5
AGRIBANK 2 2.5 3.6 3.6 5 5
VIETINBANK 2.2 2.2 3.5 3.5 5 5
SCB 1.95 2.25 3.25 3.25 4.85 4.85
VIETCOMBANK 1.9 2.2 3.2 3.2 4.8 4.8
In addition to creating room to reduce lending interest rates, banks' reduction of deposit interest rates to an unprecedented low is also one of the solutions to "treat excess money" in the past year. In the SBV's meetings on credit activities, SBV Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu repeatedly mentioned the situation that the entire banking system is having to "treat excess money". Just like businesses with inventory of goods, commercial banks are also stockpiling money. According to the State Bank, the credit growth rate of the entire system is still low compared to previous years, mainly due to objective factors such as the impact of investment, production, business, and consumption. Some customer groups have demand but have not met the conditions for borrowing; the impact of the capital absorption capacity of the real estate group...