ACB, BID, VCB Cut Deposit Rates 50bps as SBV Pressure Builds

Overview

Sixteen Vietnamese banks, including ACB, BID and VCB, have lowered deposit rates by a common 0.5% a year, with the largest cuts at 0.7%, mainly on terms of six months or longer. The adjustments follow Government and State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) direction to bring down the deposit rate floor, and matter for listed lenders because they reset funding costs across the sector.

Key Facts

• 16 banks had announced deposit rate cuts as of the afternoon of 20 October 2026.
• The common reduction is 0.5% a year, with a maximum cut of 0.7% a year.
• Cuts are concentrated in terms of six months or longer.
• Named banks include Agribank, ACB, TPBank, Sacombank, SeABank, PGBank, VCBNeo, BVBank, LPBank, BacABank, OCB, NamABank, BaoVietBank, NCB, VietBank and KienlongBank.
• The SBV asked commercial banks to cut deposit rates by at least 0.5% for terms of six months or more.
• ACB closed at VND 20,250 on 20 October 2026; BID at VND 33,650; VCB at VND 55,800.
• Branch staff were still quoting promotional rates of up to 9.6% a year for six-month deposits on the final day before the cuts took effect.

What Happened

According to the article, the deposit market shifted quickly after the Government and the SBV asked commercial banks to lower deposit rates by at least 0.5% for terms of six months or more, tied to a broader push to correct lending rates and control credit growth targets. By the afternoon of 20 October 2026, 16 banks had posted lower listed rates, mostly in the medium and long tenors, with the common reduction matching the regulator’s 0.5% guidance and the largest at 0.7%.

At the same time, branch-level competition remained intense. Staff at a branch on Láng Hạ street in Hà Nội said colleagues were still hunting for depositors all day because monthly funding targets had not been met, and used the imminent rate cut as a sales argument. Social media groups carried posts urging customers to deposit before the reduction, with one customer in Định Công, Hà Nội, offered 9.6% a year for a six-month term on 20 October. The article does not disclose the total value of deposits affected or the specific rate changes at ACB, BID or VCB.

Market Context

ACB trades on HOSE and closed at VND 20,250 on 20 October 2026, with BID at VND 33,650 and VCB at VND 55,800. The rate cut lands in a banking sector where funding costs and net interest margins are the central earnings driver, and where the SBV is simultaneously managing credit growth quotas. Lower deposit rates typically compress funding costs with a lag, but the article’s evidence of branches still paying up for deposits suggests the pass-through to actual funding costs may be slower than the listed-rate cuts imply.

Strategic Significance

The strategic question for ACB, BID and VCB is whether cheaper deposits translate into wider net interest margins or are competed away through promotional pricing and asset-side rate cuts. The SBV’s instruction links deposit rate reductions to lending rate correction and credit growth control, which suggests the policy intent is to lower the whole rate structure rather than to hand banks a margin windfall. For long-term holders, the durable signal is the regulator’s willingness to direct pricing directly, which caps how much of any funding-cost relief banks can retain.

What to Watch

• Third-quarter 2026 earnings releases from ACB, BID and VCB, including net interest margin disclosure.
• SBV statements or directives on credit growth quotas for the remainder of 2026.
• Monthly deposit rate surveys showing whether the 0.5% cut holds or is reversed by promotional offers.
• Foreign-ownership and block-trade filings for ACB on HOSE.
• Any further SBV guidance extending rate cuts to terms shorter than six months.