HÀ NỘI – Interest rates for Vietnamese đồng loans have increased in the past two months after holding steady in the first half of the year.

Reports from the Ho Chi Minh Securities Company showed that the rates rose by 0.46 percentage points against the end of last year to 7-9 per cent per year for short-term loans and 9-12.5 per cent for medium and long-term loans.

The reports named some banks such as Agribank, Military Bank, Sacombank, VP Bank and ACB, which have adjusted rates upwards in the past two months.

Agribank has increased the rates on short-term loans by 0.2 percentage points and 0.7-1.3 percentage points for medium and long-term loans.

Sacombank and VP Bank have made a 0.5-1.0 percentage point increase on loans at all terms while Military Bank has adjusted up the rates by 0.95 percentage points on short-term loans.

ACB also hiked the rate for medium and long-term loans by 0.2-0.7 percentage points.

HSC’s reports also showed that the interest rates on US dollar loans nearly remain unchanged at 5.05 per cent per year. According to some banks, demands for dollar loans have currently eased after staying high in the first half of the year.

According to HSC, interest rates on Vietnamese đồng deposits also inched up by 0.06 percentage points last month.

VNDirect Securities Co also reported that the inter-bank interest rates sharply increased in the third quarter of 2018. It forecast that rate may further increase in the last quarter, but not rise too high due to the Government’s policies.

Statistics from the general Statistical Office showed that the credit growth in the first nine months of 2018 was 9.52 per cent, much lower compared to the 12.16 per cent increase recorded in the same period of 2017 and the lowest level in the past four years. — VNS