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Vietnam's central bank starts regular spot dollar purchases at VND 25,500 per USD to add dong liquidity

Published Data as of VietnamMacro & households
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Key points

Implications for lenders

Lenders funded by bank credit lines may see dong funding costs ease if the spot purchases add lasting liquidity, which could help hold lending rates as the SBV pushes for cuts. Because there is no buy-back, unlike the 182 days swap, the extra liquidity may last longer, but lenders can still keep a buffer in case the sessions are scaled back.

Implications

ExecutivesDong funding for banks may become cheaper and more stable into year-end; lenders that borrow from banks can use this window to renegotiate lines.
InvestorsLasting dong injections support bank margins and loan growth, but they also show how tight system liquidity had become.
OperatorsIf interbank rates fall, the cost of short-term bank funding lines for consumer and SME lenders may ease, though banks set their own pass-through.

Facts

Spot purchases: according to an SBV announcement reported by Dan Tri on 10 November 2026, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) buys spot US dollars from credit institutions and foreign bank branches from 11 November, every Monday and Wednesday (a holiday moves the session to the next working day). The rate is fixed at VND 25,500 per USD 1, against a regular SBV buying rate of VND 24,385 per USD at the latest session 2, or VND 1,115 per USD higher 3. Only institutions with a positive foreign-currency position may sell, each up to the amount that brings its position to balance, based on the previous working day's end-of-day data. The purchases supply about VND 25,500 billion for every USD 1 billion bought 4. The announcement sets no total amount per session.

The swap: on 6 November the SBV offered a 182 days USD/VND swap of up to USD 2 billion 5, buying dollars spot at VND 24,399 per USD 6 and selling them back after 182 days at VND 24,704 per USD 7. Full take-up would supply nearly VND 48,800 billion 8; the allotted amount has not been reported.

Analysis

Over time: earlier in 2026 the SBV's dollar swaps ran for 3 to 21 days 9. The 6 November swap stretched that to 182 days, and outright spot purchases go further: the dong they create stays in the system with no maturity date. The SBV is moving from short-term liquidity bridges towards a more lasting source of dong funding.

Policy mix: the move comes as the SBV pushes banks to cut deposit rates (by 0.5–0.7 percentage point a year at joint-stock banks for terms of six months or longer 10) while credit growth reached about 12.27% 11. Cheaper dong funding can help banks keep lending rates down into the year-end peak, but buying dollars at a fixed rate above the regular buying rate also adds to foreign reserves and leaves banks with a reason to sell their dollar surpluses to the central bank rather than lend them.

Counterpoints and uncertainties

Dan Tri reports the announcement; the SBV has not published a total size per session, and uptake depends on how many banks hold dollar surpluses and on where the market rate trades against VND 25,500 per USD. Extra dong liquidity at a time of inflation of 5.09% 12 could add to price pressure, and the SBV can stop the sessions at any time.

Key figures

  1. SBV spot USD purchase rate from 11 November 2026: VND 25,500 per USD. Fixed rate at which the SBV buys spot USD from credit institutions in its Monday and Wednesday sessions. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 11 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  2. SBV's regular USD buying rate at the latest session: VND 24,385 per USD. SBV's regular buying rate for USD at the latest session before the announcement, as reported. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 10 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  3. Spot purchase rate above the SBV's regular buying rate: VND 1,115 per USD higher. Difference between the fixed spot purchase rate and the SBV's regular USD buying rate, as stated in the report. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 10 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  4. Dong supplied per USD 1 billion bought: about VND 25,500 billion for every USD 1 billion bought. Dong liquidity supplied for every USD 1 billion the SBV buys at the fixed spot rate, as stated in the report. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 10 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  5. 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)
  6. Spot leg of the 6 November 2026 USD/VND swap: VND 24,399 per USD. Rate at which the SBV buys USD on the spot leg of its 182-day swap offered on 6 November 2026. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 6 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  7. Forward leg of the 6 November 2026 USD/VND swap: VND 24,704 per USD. Rate at which the SBV sells USD back after 182 days under the swap offered on 6 November 2026. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 6 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  8. Dong supplied if the 6 November swap were fully used: nearly VND 48,800 billion. Dong liquidity the SBV would supply if the full swap offer were taken up, as stated in the report. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Basis date: 6 Nov 2026. Source: Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  9. 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)
  10. 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)
  11. System credit growth stated by the SBV Governor on 31 October 2026: about 12.27%
    The reported statement names neither the base period nor the cut-off date; the SBV's other 2026 readings are measured against end-2025.
    . Credit growth of the whole credit-institution system, as stated by SBV Governor Pham Duc An to the National Assembly on 31 October 2026. Credit institution system. Basis date: 31 Oct 2026. Source: VnBusiness: Credit accelerates past VND 20 quadrillion as capital flows to production and business (2026-11-04, SBV Governor at the National Assembly on 31 October)
  12. 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. Dan Tri: State Bank of Vietnam buys spot USD to support system liquidity (2026-11-10, citing an SBV announcement)
  2. The Investor: Vietnam central bank eases long-term funding constraints, boosting stock market hopes
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