VietinBank (CTG) Cuts 6-Month+ Deposit Rates to 3% After SBV Directive

Overview

VietinBank (CTG), listed on HOSE, has cut its listed deposit rate for terms of 6 months to under 12 months to 3%/year, a 50-basis-point reduction, according to the rate table on the bank’s website. The move follows a State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) directive requiring banks to reduce listed deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points per year for terms of 6 months or more, and it was matched by Vietcombank, Agribank and a long list of private lenders on 19-20 October.

Key Facts

• VietinBank lists 3%/year for terms from 6 months to under 12 months, down 50 basis points.
• Terms from 12 to under 24 months are listed at 5.4%/year; terms of 24 months or more at 5.5%/year.
• Short-term rates were left unchanged: 2.1%/year for 1 to under 3 months and 2.4%/year for 3 to under 6 months.
• The SBV directive requires a minimum cut of 0.5 percentage points per year on listed rates for 6-month+ terms.
• Private banks cutting on 19 October included ACB, TPBank, Sacombank, SeABank, PGBank, LPBank, Bac A Bank, OCB, Nam A Bank, BaoVietBank, NCB, VietBank and KienlongBank, with reductions of 0.5-0.7 points.
• Vietcombank and Agribank cut 0.5 points on 6-month+ terms, effective 20 October.
• CTG closed at VND 30,450 on 20 October 2026.

What Happened

VietinBank published the revised rate table on its website, setting 3%/year for 6-month to under-12-month deposits while holding short tenors steady at 2.1%/year and 2.4%/year. The bank left its 12-month+ rates at 5.4%/year and 5.5%/year, preserving the term premium at the long end. The adjustment was reported as a direct response to the SBV’s instruction that banks lower listed deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points for terms of 6 months or more.

The cut was not isolated. On 19 October, more than a dozen private lenders, including ACB, TPBank, Sacombank, SeABank, PGBank, LPBank, Bac A Bank, OCB, Nam A Bank, BaoVietBank, NCB, VietBank and KienlongBank, reduced 6-month+ rates by a common 0.5-0.7 points. In the state-owned group, Vietcombank and Agribank applied 0.5-point cuts from 20 October. The article attributes the wave to the SBV directive rather than to any single bank’s funding position.

Market Context

CTG closed at VND 30,450 on 20 October 2026, with BID at VND 33,650, VCB at VND 55,800 and ACB at VND 20,250. The coordinated deposit repricing spans the state-owned banks (CTG, BID, VCB) and the joint-stock lenders (ACB, LPB, STB, TPB, SSB, OCB, NAB, BAB, NVB, VBB, KLB, PGB, SHB, MBB, VPB, TCB), making this a sector-wide funding-cost event rather than a single-ticker story. The article also notes a parallel wave of lending-rate cuts, with VietinBank among the banks reducing loan rates by up to 2 points, indicating the SBV is pushing both sides of the balance sheet.

Strategic Significance

The investment question is whether the deposit cut translates into net interest margin expansion or is passed through to borrowers. The article’s reference to simultaneous lending-rate reductions, including VietinBank’s own 2-point loan-rate cut, suggests the SBV intends the funding relief to reach corporates and households rather than to accrue to bank margins. For CTG and the state-owned peers, the near-term effect is likely a lower cost of funds offset by lower asset yields, with the net outcome dependent on the pace of loan repricing and credit growth. The preserved 5.4-5.5%/year rates at 12 months and beyond indicate banks are still defending long-tenor deposits to meet stable-funding requirements.

What to Watch

• Third-quarter 2026 earnings releases from CTG, BID, VCB and ACB, and any guidance on cost of funds and net interest margin.
• SBV credit-growth quotas and any further policy-rate or directive announcements.
• Monthly deposit and lending rate tables from the SBV and individual bank websites to confirm whether the 0.5-point floor is fully implemented.
• Loan-rate reduction disclosures from CTG and peers, which determine how much of the funding relief is passed through.
• Foreign-ownership and block-trade filings for CTG, given its weight in the HOSE index.