Western Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Western Bank) offered to pay customers an interest rate of as high as 14% per annum for their 13-month deposits, the highest level in the entire banking industry currently.

The new rate was offered in late June 14 even after the unlisted lender already quoted highest deposit rate at 13.5% earlier in the day.

The unlisted lender also promises to pay 13% p.a. on 12-month deposits and 12% p.a. for deposits of 18-, 24-, and 36-month maturities.

Of note, other small banks also offered higher deposit rates and even more larger lenders followed the trend; yet offering a little bit lower rates.

SeABank offered 12% interst rate for 24 month deposits while staircase saving product worth from VND1 billion up will enjoy interest rate from 12.6-12.8% per year.

ACB and Eximbank offered preferential deposit interest rates at 11-12% per year for long term ones, rising from previous 9.5%.

Bank for Development and Investment of Vietnam (BIDV) now offers 10% for deposits with maturities longer than one year. Meanwhile, Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), which launched a revised deposit rate scheme last Thursday, offers 9.5%. 

Commercial banks started offering lower rates for long maturities a few months ago on forecast that interest rates would continue to go down, said Pham Linh, deputy CEO of Orient Commercial Bank (OCB). They are reversing their action as interest rates seem to be stable from now, Linh commented. 

Besides, banks raised long-term dong deposit rates in a defensive move as they are worried about inflation return in the medium and long terms, bankers said. 

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said in a statement posted on its website last Friday that it removed the interest rate cap of 9% per annum for deposits of over 12-month maturities. Interest rates offered on above 1-year deposits will solely be determined by credit institutions based on supply and demand on the market, the SBV noted. Meanwhile, the central bank puts a cap of 9% for deposit rate of more than 1 months to less than 12 months.

 

Source StoxPlus