Banks disclose lending rates to the public for the first time

April 02, 2024 - 12:01
The State Bank of Vietnam has demanded banks submit links to the section announcing various interest rates before April 1st. If there are changes to the links, they must be updated within two working days.
Outside of the the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Commercial banks are making their average lending rates public information, following an official request by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) which became effective on April 1.

At Sacombank, the base lending rate announced for VNĐ with terms of 1-3 months was 4.2 per cent per year, for terms of 4-6 months 5.6 per cent, for terms of 10-12 months was 7.7 per cent, while for medium to long term 8.5 per cent.

ACB announced a base lending rate applicable across its entire system at 8.7 per cent. However, the bank said the rate that applies to loans is calculated according to ACB's lending rate schedule.

VIB has also publicised its average lending rates for individual customers in February, with short-term loans at 7.29 per cent, and medium to long-term loans at 8.6 per cent. For business customers, the average lending rate for short-term loans was 6.83 per cent, and for medium to long-term loans, it was 7.69 per cent. The interest rate spread between deposit and lending averages at VIB was 3.16 per cent.

At TPBank, the rate at the end of February for transactions occurring within the month, regardless of individual or corporate, was 8.07 per cent. The average deposit rate for all terms was 5.82 per cent. The interest rate spread was at 2.25 per cent. TPBank announces an average lending rate of 7.76 per cent.

BIDV has published information on its website regarding the average lending rates for March. The average lending rate at BIDV was 6.49 per cent. The spread between the average lending rate and the average mobilisation rate was 3.12 per cent. According to a BIDV financial report, in 2023, the bank lent customers VNĐ1.74 quadrillion (US$70 billion), up 17 per cent, leading the system in lending for the past year.

Agribank has announced its rates for March 2024. Specifically, the short-term lending rate for certain priority sectors and fields as directed by the Government and SBV disclosed by Agribank was 4.0 per cent. The minimum short-term lending rate was 5 per cent. The minimum medium to long-term lending rate was 6 per cent. The lending rate for consumer loans through credit cards was 13 per cent. The average lending rate at Agribank was 7.47 per cent per year.

According to the bank's announcement, the average cost of capital was 6 per cent, with an average mobilisation interest rate of 4.2 per cent, and other costs amounted to 1.8 per cent. With the above lending and mobilisation rates, the current spread between lending and mobilisation rates was 1.47 per cent. It was the first time Agribank has made such information public.

The SBV has demanded banks to submit links to the section announcing various interest rates to SBV before April 1st. If there are changes to the links, they must be updated within two working days. Banks will be responsible for the completeness, timeliness and accuracy of the information and data disclosed; provide clear explanations of the content of the information; and proactively receive, answer and handle issues from customers. — VNS

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