ACB and 14 Private Banks Cut Deposit Rates After SBV Directive

Overview

Fifteen private Vietnamese banks, including ACB (HOSE), TPBank, Sacombank, SeABank and LPBank, simultaneously lowered listed deposit rates by 0.5-0.7 percentage points for terms of six months or longer on October 19. The move came one day after the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) instructed credit institutions to cut deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points and lending rates by 1.5-2 percentage points for manufacturing, business and priority sectors. For listed banks, the directive compresses funding costs but also signals margin pressure on the lending side.

Key Facts

• 15 private banks cut deposit rates on October 19, 2026: ACB, TPBank, Sacombank, SeABank, PGBank, VCBNeo, BVBank, LPBank, Bac A Bank, OCB, Nam A Bank, BaoVietBank, NCB, VietBank and KienlongBank.
• The reduction was 0.5-0.7 percentage points for terms of six months or more; most banks applied exactly 0.5 points, a few cut more.
• Short-term deposits under six months remain capped at 4.75% per year, with only LPBank, ACB and SeABank making minor cuts in that bracket.
• Twelve-month retail deposit rates are now below 7% at most banks, and roughly 15 banks list under 6% for the same term, excluding VIP and large-ticket deposits.
• The SBV issued the directive on October 18, requiring at least a 0.5-point cut on listed deposits of six months or more and 1.5-2 points on lending to production, business and priority sectors.
• Non-compliant banks face a review of remaining 2026 credit limits, lower 2027 credit quotas, or mandatory higher safety ratios.
• Several banks still apply effective rates 2-3 points above listed levels through app vouchers or staff referral codes.

What Happened

The rate cuts followed a State Bank of Vietnam directive issued on October 18 requiring credit institutions to reduce listed deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points per year for terms of six months or more, and to lower lending rates by 1.5-2 percentage points per year for manufacturing, business and priority sectors. Within a day, 15 private banks had repriced their deposit schedules, according to the published rate tables cited in the report. Most moved in line with the minimum; a handful went further.

The SBV attached explicit consequences to non-compliance. Banks that do not adjust will have their remaining 2026 credit limits reviewed, may receive lower credit growth targets for next year, or could be required to apply higher prudential safety ratios. The article also notes that listed rates understate actual funding costs at some banks, which continue to offer preferential rates 2-3 points above the published schedule through app-based vouchers or employee referral codes. Further repricing is expected in coming days.

Market Context

ACB (HOSE) closed at VND 20,250 on October 19, the same session the new deposit schedule took effect. Among the affected tickers with price data, STB closed at VND 61,800, SSB at VND 15,950 and TPB at VND 11,950. The simultaneous, regulator-driven repricing across 15 banks is a sector-wide event rather than a single-issuer story, and it lands as Vietnamese lenders manage net interest margins against a deposit base that has been slow to reprice downward. The directive’s threat to credit quotas gives the SBV a direct lever over bank balance-sheet growth, which matters more for earnings than the deposit cut itself.

Strategic Significance

The binding constraint here is credit allocation, not deposit pricing. By linking compliance to 2026 and 2027 credit limits and prudential ratios, the SBV has converted a rate request into a quasi-regulatory requirement. For banks such as ACB, TPB, STB and SSB, the 0.5-point funding-cost relief is modest relative to the 1.5-2 point lending-rate cut demanded for priority sectors, implying net interest margin compression unless deposit repricing runs deeper than the listed schedules suggest. The gap between advertised and effective deposit rates (2-3 points via vouchers) is the key variable: banks that compete on effective rather than listed rates will absorb less margin relief than headline tables imply, while disciplined franchises with strong low-cost deposits stand to outperform on cost of funds.

What to Watch

• Third-quarter 2026 earnings releases from ACB, TPB, STB and SSB, and any guidance on net interest margin.
• Follow-on deposit rate changes over the next several days, as the article expects more banks to reprice.
• SBV announcements on 2026 credit-limit adjustments or 2027 quota allocation, the enforcement mechanism for the directive.
• Disclosure of actual lending-rate reductions for manufacturing and priority sectors versus the 1.5-2 point target.
• Evidence on effective deposit rates, including voucher and referral programs, versus listed schedules.