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Vietnam's new-loan rates edge 0.2–0.5 percentage point lower as deposit costs fall; SBV adds a six-month swap

Published Data as of VietnamCredit
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Key points

Implications for lenders

Lenders funded by Vietnamese banks may be able to negotiate lower rates as average new-deposit rates are about 0.4 percentage point lower than in mid-October, but new-loan rates are only 0.2–0.5 percentage point lower, so cheaper funding may reach non-priority and consumer lending slowly. Pricing models and borrower affordability tests can be updated as the SBV publishes further readings rather than assuming the full requested cut.

Implications

ExecutivesExpect lower funding offers from banks first in preferential programmes for production and priority sectors; consumer lending rates may move later and less.
InvestorsTrack the next SBV readings of new-loan rates: with them 0.2–0.5 percentage point lower so far, bank margins are squeezed less than a full cut of 1.5–2 percentage points would imply.
OperatorsNon-bank lenders funded by bank lines can ask for repricing now, as banks' own deposit costs have started to fall.

Facts

First results: at the Government's regular press briefing on 4 November 2026, SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha said the average rate on newly mobilised deposits in late October was about 0.4 percentage point lower 1 than in mid-October, and the average rate on new loans was 0.2–0.5 percentage point lower 2 over the same period. Source: Viet Nam News, Dan Tri.

Listed rates and programmes: commercial banks cut listed deposit rates for terms of six months or longer; joint-stock commercial banks cut them by 0.5–0.7 percentage point a year 3. more than 20 4 banks announced preferential credit programmes offering lending-rate cuts of 1.5–2 percentage points 5. The Deputy Governor said the SBV aims to create conditions for further cuts in deposit and lending rates. Source: Viet Nam News, Dan Tri, VnEconomy.

Funding: the SBV announced a USD–VND swap on 6 November of up to USD 2 billion 6 with a tenor of 182 days 7, open to credit institutions and foreign bank branches with medium- or long-term foreign loans or international bonds; the SBV buys US dollars spot and sells them back at maturity in May 2027. Source: The Investor.

Analysis

The pass-through so far is uneven. The October directives asked for a cut of at least 0.5 percentage point a year 8 in the average rate on new deposits and, for lending to production, business and priority sectors, 1.5–2 percentage points 9. Within about two weeks, the average new-deposit rate was about 0.4 percentage point lower and the average new-loan rate 0.2–0.5 percentage point lower than in mid-October: most of the deposit-side cut, but well short of the lending-side request outside the preferential programmes. In July 2023 the government asked for lending-rate cuts of at least 1.5 percentage points a year 10; the 2026 request is of similar size, but this time the binding number sits on the deposit side.

The swap addresses the funding side of the same problem. Earlier SBV swaps in 2026 ran for 3 to 21 days 11; an operation of 182 days gives banks with foreign borrowings dong liquidity for half a year while credit has already grown 11.44% 12 since end-2025 (to 14 October).

Counterpoints and uncertainties

The figures are averages for short windows stated at a press briefing; the SBV gave no rate levels, no split by loan type and no data for individual banks, and reports of the same briefing differ on the size of programme cuts. Banks that cut deposit rates may lose deposits while credit keeps growing, and the swap is a temporary liquidity tool, not a cut in the policy rate. Inflation of 5.09% 13 in October limits how far rates can fall.

Key figures

  1. Change in average rate on new deposits (late October): about 0.4 percentage point lower (late October against mid-October)
    Stated by SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha at the Government's regular press briefing on 4 November 2026; the SBV gave no level of the average rate and no exact dates of the two periods.
    . Change in the average interest rate on newly mobilised deposits, late October 2026 against mid-October, as stated by the SBV. Commercial banks, new deposits. Basis date: 31 Oct 2026. Source: Viet Nam News: Banks lower lending rates as Government push takes effect: Deputy Governor (2026-11-05)
  2. Change in average rate on new loans (late October): 0.2–0.5 percentage point lower (late October against mid-October)
    Value = midpoint of the stated range. Stated by SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha on 4 November 2026; no breakdown by loan type or bank group.
    . Change in the average interest rate on new loans, late October 2026 against mid-October, as stated by the SBV. Commercial banks, new loans. Basis date: 31 Oct 2026. Source: Viet Nam News: Banks lower lending rates as Government push takes effect: Deputy Governor (2026-11-05)
  3. Listed deposit-rate cut at joint-stock commercial banks: 0.5–0.7 percentage point a year
    Value = midpoint. State-owned and wholly foreign-owned banks generally cut by 0.5 point.
    . Cut in listed deposit rates for terms of six months or longer at joint-stock commercial banks after the October 2026 directives, as stated by the SBV. Joint-stock commercial banks; terms of six months or longer. Basis date: 4 Nov 2026. Source: Viet Nam News: Banks lower lending rates as Government push takes effect: Deputy Governor (2026-11-05)
  4. Banks announcing preferential lending programmes: more than 20. Number of banks that announced preferential credit programmes with lending-rate cuts after the October 2026 rate directives, as stated by the SBV. Commercial banks. Basis date: 4 Nov 2026. Source: Viet Nam News: Banks lower lending rates as Government push takes effect: Deputy Governor (2026-11-05)
  5. Lending-rate cut offered in banks' preferential programmes: 1.5–2 percentage points
    Value = midpoint. Viet Nam News and Dan Tri report 1.5–2 points; VnEconomy's report of the same briefing gives 0.5–2 points. Eligibility, loan amounts and duration of the programmes were not given.
    . Lending-rate reduction offered in banks' preferential credit programmes, as stated by the SBV on 4 November 2026. Commercial banks, preferential programmes. Basis date: 4 Nov 2026. Source: Viet Nam News: Banks lower lending rates as Government push takes effect: Deputy Governor (2026-11-05)
  6. Maximum size of SBV six-month FX swap: USD 2 billion
    Eligible: institutions with medium/long-term foreign loans or international bonds with at least 12 months to maturity; each may register up to 80% of the total. Value date 9 November 2026, maturity 10 May 2027.
    . Maximum size of the SBV's USD–VND swap operation of 6 November 2026 for credit institutions with medium/long-term foreign loans or international bonds. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches. Basis date: 6 Nov 2026. Source: The Investor: Vietnam central bank eases long-term funding constraints, boosting stock market hopes (2026-11-05)
  7. Tenor of SBV FX swap of 6 November: 182 days. Tenor of the SBV's USD–VND swap operation of 6 November 2026. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches. Basis date: 6 Nov 2026. Source: The Investor: Vietnam central bank eases long-term funding constraints, boosting stock market hopes (2026-11-05)
  8. Required cut in average rate on new deposits (SBV Dispatch 9736): at least 0.5 percentage point a year
    The Vietnamese text writes '0.5%/năm' (0.5% a year). Applies in the last months of 2026; compliance is tracked through rates on new transactions reported under Dispatch 6194/NHNN-DBTK (2023).
    . Minimum cut in each bank's average deposit rate on new transactions for terms of six months or longer, against its own average for the 11–20 October 2026 reporting period, required by SBV Official Dispatch No. 9736/NHNN-CSTT of 21 October 2026. Commercial banks. Basis date: 21 Oct 2026. Source: VietnamPlus: SBV Official Dispatch No. 9736/NHNN-CSTT on lowering interest rates (2026-10-21)
  9. Lending-rate cut requested by the government: 1.5–2 percentage points
    Value = midpoint. The meeting report gives no baseline rate, loan type (new or outstanding) or deadline; the Vietnamese report writes the cut as '1.5–2%'.
    . Cut in lending rates for production, business and priority sectors requested at the Deputy Prime Minister's 16 October 2026 meeting on monetary policy. Commercial banks; production, business and priority sectors. Basis date: 16 Oct 2026. Source: VietnamPlus (VNA): Deputy PM urges 1.5-2 percentage point lending rate cuts for businesses, priority sectors (2026-10-17)
  10. Lending-rate cut requested by the government (July 2023): at least 1.5 percentage points a year. Minimum cut in lending rates on new and outstanding loans requested by a July 2023 government resolution. Banking system. Basis date: 4 Jul 2023. Source: Tuoi Tre News: Vietnam to cut lending rates by at least 1.5 percentage points (2023-07-13)
  11. Tenor of earlier SBV FX swaps in 2026: 3 to 21 days
    Value = upper end of the range. Earlier operations were USD 1–2 billion each (e.g. 21 September: 7-day; 28 September: 3-day).
    . Range of tenors of the SBV's earlier USD–VND swap operations in 2026, per VPS Securities as cited by The Investor. SBV FX swap operations, 2026. Basis date: 31 Oct 2026. Source: The Investor: Vietnam central bank eases long-term funding constraints, boosting stock market hopes (2026-11-05)
  12. System credit growth, year to date (14 October 2026): 11.44% (against 11.59% on 30 September). Growth of credit outstanding to the economy since end-2025, as stated at the SBV meeting with credit institutions on 19 October 2026. Credit institution system. Basis date: 14 Oct 2026. Source: VTV: Governor asks banks to consider cutting rates on outstanding and new loans (2026-10-19)
  13. CPI inflation, October 2026: 5.09% (up 0.20% month on month and 4.41% above December 2025). Consumer price index, year on year, Statistics Office. National. Basis date: 31 Oct 2026. Source: VietnamPlus: October CPI up 0.20%, mainly on fuel price increases (2026-11-03, citing the Statistics Office)

Sources

  1. Viet Nam News: Banks lower lending rates as Government push takes effect: Deputy Governor (2026-11-05)
  2. Dan Tri (DTiNews): More than 20 banks roll out lending rate cuts in Vietnam (2026-11-04)
  3. VnEconomy: Banks asked to prioritize capital for production and business activities (2026-11-05)
  4. The Investor: Vietnam central bank eases long-term funding constraints, boosting stock market hopes (2026-11-05)
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A Japanese version of this article is available: 日本語版

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