Vietcombank (VCB) Pledges at Least 2% Lending Rate Cut by Year-End

Overview

Vietcombank (VCB), listed on HOSE, has committed to cutting lending rates by at least 2% between now and year-end, according to chairman Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, speaking at a 17 October legislative discussion on the draft Law on Small and Medium Enterprise Development. The pledge follows Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng’s 16 October instruction to lower lending rates by 1.5-2% for production, business and priority sectors, and comes as BIDV (BID) announced cuts of up to 2% on short-term dong loans from 15 October.

Key Facts

• Vietcombank chairman Nguyễn Thanh Tùng committed to a minimum 2% reduction in lending rates from now through the end of the year.
• Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng on 16 October asked banks to cut lending rates by 1.5-2% for manufacturing, business and priority sectors.
• BIDV announced cuts of up to 2% per year on short-term dong-denominated loans, applied system-wide from 15 October.
• SMEs account for roughly 98% of all Vietnamese enterprises but only about 20% of total credit outstanding, per Tùng.
• State Bank of Vietnam data show average lending rates at 10.7% in August, up 0.2 percentage points month-on-month and about 3 percentage points above loans disbursed a year earlier.
• The commitments were made at the 17 October group discussion on the draft Law on SME Development.

What Happened

Speaking at the afternoon group discussion on 17 October, Vietcombank chairman Nguyễn Thanh Tùng said the bank commits to reducing lending rates by at least 2% from now until year-end to support businesses. He framed the move around the financing gap facing small and medium enterprises, which he said make up about 98% of Vietnamese companies but absorb only around 20% of total credit. Tùng argued that a blanket support mechanism for all SMEs would spread resources too thinly and proposed targeting priority sectors and firms able to link into larger supply chains.

The pledge follows a 16 October meeting on monetary policy operations, where Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng said the lending rate level remains high and weighs on capital costs, production and credit access, and asked for 1.5-2% cuts for priority areas. BIDV separately announced cuts of up to 2% per year on short-term dong loans across its system from 15 October, focused on sectors aligned with government priorities and subject to the bank’s credit conditions. Nguyễn Văn Thân, chairman of the SME Association, called for structural solutions rather than administrative measures alone, including fintech adoption, a regulatory sandbox and pilots for one or two standalone digital banks.

Market Context

VCB closed at VND 56,900 on 17 October and BID at VND 33,950, with both state-linked lenders sensitive to policy signals on net interest margins. Vietnamese bank shares have traded against a backdrop of rising funding costs: SBV data put average lending rates at 10.7% in August, up 0.2 percentage points on the month and roughly 3 percentage points above year-earlier disbursements. A mandated 2% cut compresses asset yields faster than deposit costs typically adjust, a margin risk that applies across the HOSE-listed banking sector, not only to VCB and BID.

Strategic Significance

The commitment reframes VCB’s role as a policy conduit: as a major state-owned bank, it is effectively transmitting government credit-easing directives, which supports SME credit access but pressures net interest margin if deposit costs do not fall in tandem. For BID, the 15 October programme is narrower, limited to short-term dong loans and priority sectors, suggesting a targeted rather than blanket repricing. The longer-term question is whether rate cuts are funded by operational efficiency, as the SME Association suggests through digital banking pilots, or absorbed by shareholders through thinner spreads. The draft SME law’s emphasis on targeted rather than broad-based support hints at the direction of policy design.

What to Watch

• Third-quarter 2026 earnings releases from VCB and BID, for early read on net interest margin and deposit cost trends.
• SBV monthly average lending rate data for September and October, to confirm whether the 10.7% August level has peaked.
• Details of VCB’s implementation timeline and eligible borrower segments, which the article does not specify.
• Progress on the draft Law on SME Development and any embedded credit-support mechanisms.
• Any SBV guidance on deposit rate ceilings or liquidity support that would offset margin pressure.