ACB Cuts Lending Rates 1.5-2% After SBV Directive: CEO Tu Tien Phat

Overview

ACB (HOSE) will reduce its deposit rate schedule effective the day after the State Bank of Vietnam’s 19 October meeting with commercial bank leaders, and will cut lending rates for corporate borrowers by 1.5-2% per year, CEO Tu Tien Phat said on the sidelines of the meeting. The move follows a policy push from the Government and the SBV and is the most concrete listed-bank commitment reported so far from that session.

Key Facts

• ACB CEO Tu Tien Phat spoke to media on the sidelines of the SBV meeting on the morning of 19 October, chaired by Governor Pham Duc An.
• ACB cut its deposit rate schedule on 19 October, with the new rates effective the following day.
• The bank is launching a special corporate lending programme cutting rates by 1.5% to 2% per year.
• Under an earlier programme with a 1% rate cut, ACB had disbursed approximately VND 5,000B by the time of the meeting.
• The SBV signalled it would consider reducing credit growth quotas for banks that do not comply with its directives.
• ACB shares closed at VND 20,600 on 18 October 2026.

What Happened

Speaking to reporters after the SBV’s meeting with the chairmen and general directors of commercial banks on the morning of 19 October, Tu Tien Phat, General Director of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), said the bank had immediately begun implementing programmes in line with the Government’s and the SBV’s direction. The first step was a reduction in the deposit rate schedule announced that day, taking effect the next day. The second is a dedicated corporate lending programme that lowers rates by 1.5% to 2% per year.

Phat said ACB had run preferential rate programmes over the preceding period, and that an earlier 1% rate reduction had resulted in roughly VND 5,000B of disbursement. He said the bank expects the banking system’s efforts to help Vietnamese enterprises become more competitive. Asked about the SBV leadership’s warning that credit growth quotas could be trimmed for banks that fail to follow its direction, Phat called it a strong message that reinforces market discipline, adding that all banks in the system need to work together to implement state policy. He said lower rates will affect the bank’s own business and its customers, but described the system as acting collectively for market discipline, and said he expects the SBV to continue applying monetary policy flexibly to increase support for the system. The remarks were reported by An Ninh Tien Te; the article does not quantify the revenue or margin impact on ACB.

Market Context

ACB trades on HOSE and closed at VND 20,600 on 18 October 2026, the last session before the SBV meeting. The stock sits in the banking sector, which is directly exposed to the SBV’s rate and credit-growth management. The article does not provide ACB’s recent price trend, valuation, or foreign-ownership data, so the immediate market reaction to the rate announcement is not yet known.

Strategic Significance

The key variable for ACB is the spread between deposit and lending rates. A 1.5-2 percentage point cut in corporate lending rates is larger than the 1% reduction under the earlier programme, and if deposit costs fall by less, net interest margin compresses. The offsetting factor is volume: cheaper credit is intended to accelerate disbursement, and ACB’s earlier programme already moved about VND 5,000B. The second signal matters as much as the first. The SBV’s willingness to cut credit growth quotas for non-compliant banks turns quota allocation into an enforcement tool, which favours banks that follow directives and can penalise those that do not. For long-term holders, ACB is positioning as a compliant, system-aligned lender at a moment when the regulator is explicitly tying quota access to behaviour.

What to Watch

• ACB’s published deposit rate schedule and the size of the reduction, effective the day after 19 October.
• Disbursement figures under the new 1.5-2% corporate lending programme, comparable to the roughly VND 5,000B under the earlier 1% programme.
• Any SBV announcement on revised credit growth quotas for individual banks.
• ACB’s next quarterly earnings disclosure for net interest margin and loan growth.
• Further SBV monetary policy guidance following the 19 October meeting.