As at the end of August, many domestic banks have received a large amount in deposits even though the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) reduced the interest rate cap on under 6-month term deposits from 7% pa to 6% pa in March.  Representatives from some commercial banks said that this is the lowest rate ever recorded in the country. 

Over the past few months, BIDV Hai Van, Dong A Bank, Vietinbank, Techcombank, ACB, Vietcombank, HDbank and other credit institutions have seen their total deposits reach a relatively high level.  The Director of the Da Nang branch of Vietcombank, Mr Le Diep, said that by the end of August the branch had seen an increase of 21.7% in its deposits compared with late December of last year, whilst loans had increased by only 5.4%.  The amount of money which has yet to be lent by the bank is likely to hit several trillions of dong by the end of this year.

Banking transactions at a local commercial bank

According to the Director of the city’s branch of the SBV, Mr Vo Minh, despite the slight decrease in deposit interest rates, many local residents are feeling more secure about keeping their savings in banks which are considered to be safe and reliable places.  He added that many commercial banks have seen a steady month-on-month increase.  For example, the total deposits at local banks climbed to over 57.3 trillion VND in August from over 56.8 trillion VND in July.