Banks split on lending rate adjustments in May

Banks split on lending rate adjustments in May

Twenty banks had disclosed their average lending rates for May as of June 21 with six reducing average lending rates and the remaining raising them, according to data released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Six lenders reduced average lending rates with 14 others raised them in May. — VNA/VNS Photo

Twenty banks have disclosed their average lending rates for May as of June 21 with six reducing and the remaining raising them, according to data released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

This reflects varied funding costs and lending strategies across the banking sector.

GPBank recorded the largest decline, cutting its average lending rate by 1.63 percentage points from April to 8.84 per year. TPBank reduced its rate by 1.01 percentage points to 9.93 per cent.

MBV and VIB both lowered average lending rates by 0.55 percentage points, bringing rates to 8.86 per cent and 8.58 per cent, respectively.

BVBank cut its rate by 0.34 percentage points to 10.51 per cent, while Bac A Bank reduced its rate by 0.16 percentage points to 10.25 per cent.

Fourteen banks increased average lending rates by between 0.02 and 0.7 percentage points. Major lenders including VietinBank, BIDV, Agribank, Techcombank and MB were among those reporting higher rates.

Vietcombank, one of the largest state-controlled lenders in Việt Nam, had not published its May lending rate data as of June 21.

Other banks that have not disclosed figures included HDBank, Nam A Bank, ABBank, Viet A Bank, KienlongBank, VCBNeo and PGBank.

Banks said average lending rates reflect newly originated loans during the reporting period, while actual borrowing costs vary depending on customer creditworthiness, financial capacity and collateral quality.

According to the SBV's May 2026 report, average Vietnamese đồng deposit rates at commercial banks ranged from 0.1-0.2 per cent per year for demand deposits and terms of less than one month.

Deposit rates stood at 4.1-4.6 per cent for terms of one month to less than six months, 5.9-7.4 per cent for six to 12 months, 5.7-7.1 per cent for terms of more than 12 months to 24 months, and 7.1-7.6 per cent for deposits with maturities exceeding 24 months.

Average lending rates in Vietnamese đồng for both new and outstanding loans ranged from 8-10.1 per cent per year. Average short-term lending rates for priority sectors were about 3.9 per cent, below the SBV's regulatory ceiling of 4 per cent.

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