SCB Cuts Online Savings Rates to 0.1-0.7% After SBV Directive
This Aveluro analysis covers SCB on UPCOM in the Banks sector. The classified event type is rate decision, with negative sentiment and a deterministic market-impact score of 9.0/10. Aveluro classifies this story as a negative catalyst and risk signal for the affected stock. Source coverage came from CafeF - Tài chính ngân hàng, classified as a primary/top-tier source.
Key Facts
Caveat: Not investment advice. · How Aveluro computed this: Aveluro combines extracted event facts, source credibility, ticker context, and market data. Scores are deterministic research signals, not recommendations.
Overview
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), listed on UPCOM, cut its online savings deposit rates to 0.1-0.7% per year effective October 26, 2026, according to the rate table published on its website. The reduction follows the State Bank of Vietnam’s October 21 directive requiring credit institutions to lower average deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points for new transactions of six months or longer in the final months of 2026.
Key Facts
- SCB’s new online savings rate table, effective October 26, 2026, ranges from 0.1% to 0.7% per year for individual customers opening new online deposits.
- Terms of 31, 39 and 45 days, and 1 to 5 months, carry 0.1% per year.
- Terms of 6 to 11 months carry 0.5% per year; 12, 13, 15 and 18 months carry 0.6% per year.
- Terms of 24 and 36 months carry 0.7% per year, the highest in the online table.
- A VND 100 million 12-month deposit at 0.6% yields VND 600,000 at maturity; a 24-month deposit at 0.7% yields about VND 1.4 million.
- On October 21, 2026, the State Bank of Vietnam required banks to cut average new deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points versus the October 11-20 reporting period.
- SCB has been under special control since mid-2022 and now operates about 8 transaction points in 6 localities, down from nearly 240 before special control.
What Happened
SCB published a revised savings rate table on its website applying from October 26, 2026. For individual customers opening new online deposits, the bank set end-of-term rates at 0.1% per year for 31-, 39- and 45-day terms and for 1- to 5-month terms; 0.5% for 6- to 11-month terms; 0.6% for 12-, 13-, 15- and 18-month terms; and 0.7% for 24- and 36-month terms. No online rate now exceeds 1% per year.
The adjustment follows the State Bank of Vietnam’s October 21 directive that credit institutions cut rates on both the deposit and lending channels, with a minimum 0.5 percentage point reduction in average new deposit rates for terms of six months or more in the final months of 2026 relative to the October 11-20 average. SCB has been under special control since mid-2022, and its deposit rates have typically been the lowest in the market and infrequently changed since then. At the 12-month term, SCB now pays roughly 6 percentage points less than state-owned banks and 7 percentage points less than private banks, according to the article.
Market Context
SCB trades on UPCOM, Vietnam’s unlisted public company market, and remains under special control, a status that limits its operational flexibility and investor visibility. The bank has been shrinking: from nearly 240 transaction points before special control, it now operates about 8 points across 6 localities, and it recently changed its head office location. The rate cut places SCB at the extreme low end of a system-wide deposit rate decline triggered by the SBV’s October 21 directive, a policy push that has already pulled down deposit rates at many banks. The article does not provide SCB share price data or a specific price-context block.
Strategic Significance
For long-term investors, SCB’s near-zero online deposit rates reinforce its position as a bank prioritizing liquidity and policy compliance over deposit growth while under special control. The gap of roughly 6-7 percentage points versus peers at the 12-month term effectively prices SCB out of the retail deposit market, which is consistent with a strategy of shrinking the balance sheet and branch footprint rather than competing for funds. The key policy angle is the SBV’s willingness to mandate deposit rate cuts across the system, which compresses funding costs for banks broadly but disproportionately affects weak institutions that cannot attract deposits on price. SCB’s trajectory depends less on market rates than on the resolution of its special-control status, which the article does not address.
What to Watch
- Further SBV directives or reports on system-wide deposit rate levels for the final months of 2026.
- Any announcement from the SBV or SCB regarding the bank’s special-control status or restructuring plan.
- SCB’s next published rate table and any change in its branch or transaction point count.
- Third-quarter 2026 financial disclosures from SCB, if published, for deposit and liquidity trends.
- Foreign-ownership or shareholder-structure filings related to SCB on UPCOM.