Largest Bank in the System Hikes Savings Interest Rates, Short-Term Deposits See Significant Surge

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has officially joined the race to increase deposit interest rates after a long period of stability. According to the newly updated online savings interest rate chart, BIDV has raised rates by 0.6 percentage points per year for terms of 1–5 months and 0.7 percentage points per year for terms of 6–11 months. Meanwhile, the 12-month term remains unchanged, and longer terms of 13–36 months have seen a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points per year.

Following these adjustments, BIDV’s online interest rates now stand at 2.6%/year for 1–2 month terms, 2.9%/year for 3–5 month terms, and 4%/year for 6–11 month deposits. The 12-month term remains at 4.7%/year, while 13–18 month terms have risen to 4.8%/year, and the highest rate of 5%/year applies to 24–36 month terms.

In addition to raising savings interest rates, BIDV has also announced the issuance of Phat Loc Deposit Certificates with a fixed preferential interest rate of up to 6.6%/year.

BIDV is currently the bank with the largest customer deposit and asset scale in the system. Its move to increase interest rates is expected to significantly impact the overall deposit interest rate landscape in the coming period.

Prior to BIDV, VietinBank also increased online savings interest rates at the beginning of December, adjusting most short-term deposit terms upward.

Specifically, for 1–2 month terms, online interest rates were raised by 0.4 percentage points to 2.4%/year. Terms of 3–5 months saw a 0.5 percentage point increase, reaching 2.8%/year. The 6–11 month term group increased by 0.6 percentage points to 3.9%/year. Longer terms from 12 to 36 months remained unchanged, with 4.7%/year for 12–18 month terms and 5%/year for 24–36 month terms.

Since the beginning of December, six banks, including major players like VPBank, VietinBank, and BIDV, have raised deposit interest rates. Previously, around 20 banks increased deposit rates in November, with common adjustments ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 percentage points, primarily focusing on terms under 12 months. Notably, several banks raised rates by 0.6–0.8 percentage points for shorter terms.

According to industry experts, the widespread trend of increasing interest rates aims to meet the heightened capital demand at year-end and narrow the gap between deposit and lending growth.

At a recent Business Results Announcement, Mr. Vu Minh Truong, Director of the Capital and Financial Market Division at VPBank, noted that credit growth has outpaced deposit growth for an extended period, putting pressure on liquidity and interest rates toward the end of the year.

VPBank’s leadership reported that credit growth for the first nine months of the year reached approximately 13.5%, while deposit growth was 9.6%. Similarly, compared to September 2024, credit grew by nearly 19%, while deposits increased by about 16%, resulting in a 3% gap between the two figures.

“These indicators have been rising steadily, leading to a relatively high loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) of around 98% for the primary market. These factors clearly demonstrate the current pressure to raise interest rates,” stated Mr. Truong.