SBV Holds Policy Rates as ACB Cuts Lending Rates 1.5-2% After 19/10 Meeting

Overview

State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Governor Phạm Đức Ấn chaired a meeting with commercial bank leaders in Hà Nội on 19 October 2026, securing broad agreement to lower lending rates. ACB (HOSE) committed to an immediate 1.5-2%/year reduction, while Agribank announced a 2%/year cut. The SBV kept its policy rates unchanged and retained a 15% credit growth orientation, meaning the easing is being delivered through bank balance sheets rather than the policy rate.

Key Facts

• Meeting held 19 October 2026 in Hà Nội, chaired by SBV Governor Phạm Đức Ấn, with Deputy Governors and commercial bank chairs and CEOs attending.
• ACB General Director Từ Tiến Phát stated the bank would cut lending rates by 1.5-2%/year starting the same day.
• Agribank cut lending rates by 2%/year for a broad group of customers from 19 October.
• The SBV left all policy rates unchanged, citing support for low-cost funding access for credit institutions.
• Credit growth orientation set at 15% for 2026, with room for adjustment based on actual conditions.
• Outstanding credit to the economy reached VND 20,721,583 billion as of 14 October 2026, up 11.44% from end-2025 and 16.73% year-on-year.
• The SBV directed that rate cuts be considered for both existing loan balances and new loans.

What Happened

The SBV convened the meeting to review monetary policy implementation over the first nine months of 2026 and to press commercial banks on lowering the lending rate floor. According to the SBV’s account, open market operations have been managed flexibly with daily secured lending at varied tenors to support liquidity, while exchange rate management has combined intervention sales with coordinated policy tools to absorb external shocks. On rates, the SBV said it would hold policy rates steady so that credit institutions can access low-cost funding from the central bank, while directing them to implement solutions that reduce the overall lending rate level.

ACB’s Từ Tiến Phát told the meeting that his bank would reduce lending rates by 1.5-2%/year that same day, and the SBV requested that reductions apply to both outstanding balances and new disbursements. Agribank’s 2%/year cut took effect from 19 October for a large customer base. The SBV also reiterated that credit growth targets are anchored to a 15% orientation, adjustable up or down as conditions evolve, and asked institutions to channel credit toward production, priority sectors and growth drivers while tightening control over real estate and other risk-prone segments.

Market Context

ACB trades on HOSE and closed at VND 20,600 on 18 October 2026, the session before the meeting. The stock, like the broader Vietnamese banking sector, has been sensitive to net interest margin expectations and the pace of credit expansion against the SBV’s 15% cap. The meeting outcome is a sector-wide signal rather than an ACB-specific event: the SBV is using moral suasion to push lending rates down without cutting the refinancing rate, a pattern that compresses margins across listed banks while supporting credit demand and asset quality in the property-linked segments the SBV flagged as risk-prone.

Strategic Significance

For long-term holders, the key variable is the split between funding cost relief and lending rate cuts. Because the SBV held policy rates, banks cannot rely on cheaper central bank liquidity to offset the 1.5-2 percentage point lending cut; the offset must come from deposit repricing, CASA mix and volume growth within the 15% credit ceiling. ACB’s willingness to move first and immediately suggests confidence in its funding base, but the margin arithmetic is negative in the near term unless deposit rates fall in tandem. The explicit instruction to apply cuts to existing balances accelerates the repricing of the back book, which is the more margin-dilutive channel.

What to Watch

• ACB’s Q3 2026 earnings release and any disclosed net interest margin guidance for Q4.
• Deposit rate movements at ACB and peers over the next four to six weeks, which determine whether the lending cut is margin-neutral.
• SBV credit growth allocations and any upward adjustment to the 15% orientation.
• SBV open market and FX intervention data, given the article’s reference to exchange rate pressure and Middle East conflict risk.
• Sector-wide loan growth and asset quality disclosures for real estate exposure in the next reporting cycle.