In the first days of 2019, the mobilisation interest rate level continued to rise, and some banks even increase their rates to nine percent per annum.
While private joint stock banks such as Vietnam Prosperity Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VPBank), Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), HCM City Development Commerical Joint Stock bank (HDBank), Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank), etc. have raised their mobilisation rates, state-owned banks such as Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnma (BIDV), Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), etc. have almost kept their deposit rates unchanged.
At National Citizen Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NCB), the highest mobilisation rate is 8.4 percent per annum for deposits of above 500 million dong with a term of 24 months.
VPBank also raised its highest mobilisation rate to nine pecent per annum. However, in order to be offered this rate, customers need to deposit more than five billion dong on 36-month term and not to withdraw before maturity. This mobilisation interest rate schedule has been applied by VPBank from the end of December 2018.
Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) is also mobilising at a higher rate than the average level of the banking system for long-term deposits. Customers depositing more than 50 million dong can use savings terms of six to 12 months and another product with a term of 13 months. The highest rate applied at SCB for the deposits with terms of 13 months and more is 8.65 percent, interest paid at maturity.
According to experts, the rise of mobilisation interest rates has raised concerns for businesses because the higher mobilisation rate level will pull up the lending rate level in the near future.
Nguyen Tien My, director of No.2 Garment Company, said that in the context when the lending rates are following an uptrend, businesses thend to narrow their production scale, lower input costs, avoid waste, reduce arising costs, make the most of resources, etc. “The average lending rate is currently about 12 percent per annum, while the profit of businesses does not exceed 20 percent. If lending rates continue to go up, businesses will face many difficulties in business and production,” My emphasized.
Dr Nguyen Tri Hieu, a banking and finance expert, said that the increase of lending rate will make businesses to limit borrowings to invest in production and business as well as in their projects. “The interest rate increase is cyclical, becayse banks often boost capital mobilisation to prepare for their lending activities in at the beginning of the New Year. Moreover, countries such as India, Malaysia, China, etc. continuously increased their lending rates in the last months of 2018 in order to curb inflation. Therefore, the uptrend of interest rates in Vietnam is inevitable,” said Dr Hieu.
Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) forecasted that the lending rate level in Vietnam will increase by about 0.5 percent to one percent in 2019.
